Two Moons
by Danowsawa
Summary: Kyra Shadowmoon has dedicated her entire life to rising up the ranks of the Sentinels, hoping to make her mark on the world elsewhere. Constantly rebuffed, however, a superior brings a human along, Colin Dumerval, to help her learn more about the world outside of the Crown of the Earth, in hopes that it will help her reach her goals.
1. An Unexpected Meeting

**_Cover created by DeviantArtist, CeliArts._**

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Teldrassil. Crown of the Earth. Underneath its magnificent boughs lie a civilization of Night Elves, ones who've been living there for some thousands of years. Despite their turbulent and sometimes torturous history, the Night Elves upon Teldrassil have lived a moderately peaceful existence. One would think that being near-immortal would leave these branches monotonous to see every day, but on the contrary, within these limbs lie a gorgeous world, one that symbolized centuries, millennia even, of strife and tenacity. With this came respect, and the Teldrassilians were in endless supply.

Upon these branches lie Darnassus, the city of Elves, but farthest from that layeth Starbreeze Village, the smallest collection of homes on the tree. Dolanaar was rather populous, and at least Aldrassil had a magnificent tree that gave a sense of strength, Star breeze was simply there, more so as a last refuge for those Elves who wanted the absolute least between them and nature.

From such a place, you'd be amazed to learn that not everybody who lived there simply spent their days lazily walking upon the grass, or gathering peacebloom to sell across the season. In fact, there still remained one daughter of Starbreeze that longed for the call of Kalimdor to rouse her from this minute existence.

Kyra Shadowmoon, the last in a large family of Starbreeze, though also the last to leave. Her brothers and sisters had already gone off in the world, leaving Kyra alone to throw her own lot in. To be fair, she had become rather accomplished herself, especially given her history. When she was younger, she had been rather sickly due to some fel magic that had come during a grell invasion. Although a trivial repulsion ended the attack, Kyra was weak and small compared to her siblings afterwards. Nevertheless, inspired, and perhaps jealous, of her siblings, she was determined to make her own mark on the world. Arguably, her most successful sister had become a sentinel of the Silverwings, though she had siblings in Azshara, Darkshore, and even a brother in Ironforge who was learning to become a blacksmith.

Kyra was left to her own devices, and as soon as she could, she was allowed to be a sentry of Teldrassil, a post she tried her best to excel at. Thanks to a sister of hers, a Priestess of Elune, Kyra was given tasks that allowed her a challenge to allow her to stand out. To be true, she'd been a hero in Shadowglen for a week during a particularly dangerous spider siege. Her other achievements also included eradicating the grell from the tree, if only for a time, an achievement she heralded as one of her greatest, if only because of the finality of it and her childhood.

She longed for the life that came to those on the mainland: Kalimdor. She had heard stories since her youth, of Fandral's stand in Silithus, to Archimonde, to the Taurens that were as wide as her brothers were tall. Kyra desperately sought assignment outside of the crown of the Earth, but was always met with rejection.

One of the higher ups that actively helped Kyra with this goal was a Sentinel of Darnassus, Tyriel Dawnrunner, who'd long since retired from her adventures. She enjoyed the drive within Kyra, a motivation that lacked in most of the Night Elves of Teldrassil, who were content to remain here for their thousands of years. Tyriel had been alive since the creation of this second great tree, and had watched it grow over her life. The day Alexstraza finally blessed the tree was the only day she'd wept in her life.

While the Crown of the Earth might have been a daughter to Tyriel, Kyra might have been a second. While Tyriel was exiting her 'adult' age and moving into a sort of elder age, Kyra was on the opposite end of the spectrum, and perhaps was a respite for the elder's looming twilight. Often, Kyra would trek to Darnassus for a visit and the two would eat a meal upon one of the terraces. It was during one of these afternoon meetings that Kyra was expecting good news. Tremendous news, even…

"Tyriel!" she shouted, excitedly, running down the great bridge toward her friend and mentor, "Have you heard?!"

She quickly noticed an incredibly neutral face on Tyriel's face, with the slightest hint of contentedness, but she always wore that face, and Kyra knew it meant nothing to answer her question. Instead, Tyriel handed her friend a handkerchief to wipe her sweat off with.

"Good lord, Kyra, did you run all the way here?"

"Just about," she spoke, excitedly, now rubbing her hands together, "I'm going to Lor'danel, right?!"

Tyriel now smiled at the young one's excitement. Kyra was rather reserved, and she knew that there was only a few people on Azeroth who actually witnessed this side of her. She waved Kyra along with her as she began walking down the bridge, slowly.

"I spoke with one of the Sisters already. In fact, the news came straight from Astarii herself."

She turned and smiled toward Kyra, "You know, you've accomplished plenty here on this tree. Our home. Between you and Teldrassil, I have the two most important things in my life, and it's some poetic justice that you'd be protecting the other. But you must know that I want nothing but the best for you, and I knew you deserve more than this place; I see it in your face when you talk about it."

Unable to decipher her meaning, Kyra could only listen intently as Tyriel continued, "But I'm sorry Kyra, but it won't be this time around."

Kyra lowered her head, slowly, immediately feeling a strong weight of disappointment crushing her soul. There had been no doubt in her mind, but here she was anyway.

"They just don't think you're ready," Tyriel continued softly, "They just want you at 100%. They don't see that you'll become 150% in time. Maybe next time, kiddo."

Tyriel rested her hand, tenderly, on Kyra's shoulder, feeling the vibrations from her frustrations, though she didn't speak them. Soon enough, however, they poured ever so quietly from her eyes.

"I've done everything, and gone beyond; worked day and night, and sacrificed my friends and my life…" Kyra choked up.

"And you have more than enough to show for it!" a voice spoke, suddenly, from behind Kyra, which forced her to spin around quick enough to find Tyrande Whisperwind standing there.

Her commander in chief reached over to wipe Kyra's cheek, "By Elune, child, why must you cry over what you've done? Do you realize just how many Sentinels have actually commanded the whole of Teldrassil?"

"Three…" Kyra spoke, still shaking, but trying her hardest to remain professional in the eyes of her leader.

"And they've all been great warriors of Elune. Let me tell you, child, more than anyone else, adventures are not always as heroic as you may want to believe."

Tyriel nodded, "You don't have to tell me twice."

With a grin, Tyrande embraced Kyra tightly, patting her back to comfort her, "Sometimes, adventure is so much closer to home than you'd ever think. I hope you remain our most respectable Sentinel."

Kyra nodded slowly as Tyrande peered over to Tyriel to acknowledge her before making her leave. Kyra only stood there, upset still, but shocked to have actually met the High Priestess in such a state. Tyriel smiled as she grabbed her child's shoulder.

"Even Tyrande wanted you to know just how important you are here. Maybe next time they'll realize that your importance is too big for this crown."

Kyra sighed before turning to walk away, "I don't exactly have an appetite."

"It's fine," Tyriel smiled, "Maybe next time."

'Maybe next time' was a phrase that Kyra was truly beginning to despise.

Kyra was walking the paths of the tree a few days later, having been on duty for the day. It had been quite uneventful, with just a missing vase needing to be found, so she'd been on edge for most of the time. She'd found that the biggest problems always occur during the smallest bits of expectancy; a thought that usually had her on alert, even if most days offered little else than the aforementioned fetching. Her occupation was more or less helping residents, rather than protecting them, which only added to her longing to leave.

On this day, she'd let her guard down upon hearing the familiar footsteps of Tyriel, who walked with a gait that was archaic, and more proper of older Sentinels. Kyra turned to see the oddest sight she had seen, perhaps since she was a child, and she quickly took on a more serious stance as Tyriel approached her…with a man walking alongside her. A human.

Living her entire life on Teldrassil, Kyra had never encountered a human before in her life. She faintly remembered having seen one or two in Darnassus as a child, but never had she encountered one approaching her directly. She was as familiar of man as she was of dwarves, trolls, or worgan, and even draenei; about as far as a book or two could have taken her.

"Kyra," Tyriel called out, though she was only a few steps away.

"Yes, Sister," Kyra replied in a commanding tone, as though to demonstrate a certain dominance over this newcomer.

The man watched her innocently as Tyriel reproached her younger comrade, "Now, there's no need to be professional. This is Colin Dumerval, of Theramore, and he's here to learn about our crown of the earth. He's been trying to gain permission for years, but I figured now was the best time I could have afforded."

Kyra looked at Colin skeptically, though he only smiled back at her, a bit nervously, as Kyra replied, "And why is now a good time?"

Tyriel sighed, "Well, one of the biggest critiques of your abilities is your lack of familiarity of life outside of Teldrassil, right? Backwards logic, yes, but Colin, here, is perhaps the best person for you to become acquainted with."

The older night elf patted Colin on the back, a bit forcefully, giving him his cue to begin speaking, "Oh, uh, yes! I'm Colin Dumerval. Pleasure to meet you."

He quickly shot out his hand, though Kyra stared at it as though handshakes were foreign to her. It must have been simple skepticism, as she slowly allowed her own hand to shake his.

"I'm sort of an explorer, I guess. My goal is to learn what I can of, hopefully, all cultures, so as to sort of act as an ambassador of sorts, I suppose."

Colin began rummaging through his rucksack as Kyra turned to Tyriel, meeting her usually neutral expression.

"I'm adverse to war, so I'd like to be of service on the side of peace," Colin explained, pulling out a scroll, "I've spent time alongside gnomes, the pandaren; even the Darkspears had me under their banner for a fortnight."

Hearing that, Kyra's ear twitched, "The trolls? How did a human manage that?"

Colin chuckled lightly, "Not as easily as even a pessimist may expect."

He handed over the scroll, where he had drawn a picture of some trolls around a bonfire, partaking in some ceremony. Kyra examined the scene, rather bewildered.

"Colin has plenty of stories, but he's never been here before, so I figured this arrangement may work both ways," Tyriel explained, "I know books aren't your favorite things, but hopefully having a living book here may help the process."

Kyra looked at Colin, who was returning the scroll back to his rucksack, "Have you spent time amongst any of our kind?"

"A little bit," he explained, "But nothing too extensive. Night elves _are_ rather secretive, though I've noticed that once you've gained their trust, their helpfulness and loyalties tend to last as long as they do. Down in Feralas, I was nearly mauled by a bear, but a Feathermoon sentinel saved me and I stayed in their stronghold for a day or two."

Kyra's eyes glazed over a bit, hearing about the sisters of Feathermoon, a Sister she had imagined, many times, serving with. Tyriel grinned a small smile, seeing Kyra's eyes flash.

"Colin will be here for a week, so you two will have to get to work quickly," Tyriel spoke, with a vagueness in her voice that Colin and Kyra both noticed, "I must return to my post, so you two go on. And remember, Kyra, that this could mean you leaving for the mainland."

Kyra nodded, a bit perturbed by Tyriel's words, though she remained silent as her superior said her goodbyes. The two left behind watched her off, before Kyra spoke up.

"Well, I suppose I'm your host. To be wholly transparent, I haven't been around humans, nor have I ever been host to a visitor, so I apologize if I offend."

Colin laughed, "I've been carried on the shoulders of Bronzebeards to a beer hall where a boar was being slaughtered for a meal. I doubt you could do much more that could terrify or offend me."

With only the smallest of grins, Kyra replied, "You certainly know a lot."

"Well, I've been traveling all around Azeroth since I was very young," Colin started as the two began walking, "My parents were killed during a Horde attack on Theramore. I was about ten at the time, and we retaliated, but during our own attack on their camp, there was an orc child, who couldn't have been any older than me. Someone hit him and threw him at me, probably expecting me to finish him off…but I couldn't do it."

Kyra stared at him, amazed by what she was hearing, "I know there are two sides to this war, and that it's so easy to say that humanity is "right", and the Horde is "wrong", but there's nothing "right" about killing. So, I dedicated my life to peace."

He shrugged, chuckling, "But from what I've gathered, you're quite eager to join the war. I suppose it's rather ironic that we've met."

Kyra stared on ahead, "It's not as if I'm looking forward to killing. I just want to serve my people, like my brothers and sisters. Hell, if I spent thousands of years just stationed at an encampment somewhere, or rebuilding Auberdine, or…"

She paused, as if in thought, "The people of Teldrassil don't need me. No matter how much they need someone to refill the moonwells; I have seven lieutenants that are more than capable."

The two arrived at the road that lead down to Starbreeze Village, with Kyra stopping and turning toward her guest, "I have something like twenty brothers and sisters, and I'm the only one left here. I was always the weak one, and the one they all felt needed protecting. Keeping me here is just another form of them sheltering me. But I've worked too hard for sheltering."

Colin nodded, "I understand that. In any case, I hope I can assist you in any way I can. I mean, I'll have a good time here regardless; you're the one who truly needs my visit, I suppose."

Kyra nodded, "And I'll definitely try to get you everywhere I can. I don't exactly know how you work, but being the commander of all the Sentinels here, I can get you, pretty much, anywhere."

"I'll take you up on that," Colin smiled.

Kyra raised her hand toward Starbreeze, directing her guest along. The two began walking again, chatting as they went, though Kyra was obviously more intrigued than Colin, who was enjoying simply seeing the tree that surrounded his every direction.

"My family has lived here in Starbreeze for generations," Kyra began, "Which means little in night elf society; our people have encompassed, probably, five or six generations' in total. Basically, we've been here since we've inhabited Teldrassil. I grew up here, along with all my siblings, and I still reside here."

Colin looked around, enamored by how 'open' all the buildings seemed, "You don't believe in walls, do you?"

Kyra grinned, understanding the joke, "Well, we enjoy being alongside nature as much as possible. Shoes are still a foreign concept to many night elves."

Nodding, Colin began scribbling down notes as he walked, which seemed to be an activity he was well practiced in. The two walked through the village, amidst the quiet whispers surrounding them. Most of the night elves on the tree hasn't seen a human either, and the presence of one definitely caught most of them off guard. Colin noticed this, though was familiar with the feeling at this point, but Kyra seemed rather oblivious to it herself.

Eventually, a curious enough observer approached the two, bowing to the two of them, before addressing Kyra, "Sister, you bring a guest?"

She nodded, as Colin continued jotting, "Yes, but he'll only be staying for seven moons or so. Colin is rather versed in studying cultures, so he's just observing our home."

The man looked at Colin, who was now returning the glance, and leaned toward Kyra, speaking in Darnassian, "[A human?]"

"[Is that a problem?]"

The man shook his head, offering a hand toward Colin, who shook it readily, "Welcome to our crown of the earth, human. I apologize for anybody's apprehension. In many, many years, very few of us have interacted with humans."

Colin smiled, "I'm far too used to being unfamiliar by now, so I entirely understand, uh, Sir."

"Teronus," the man spoke, "Elune be with you."

Colin nodded, watching Teronus walk away toward what appeared to be his home. Kyra began walking again, forcing Colin to do the same, which his did with a laugh.

"It never gets old," he grinned, "Being so alien. It almost feels weird returning to a place where humans are commonplace."

Kyra led Colin to her home and allowed him entry, though there wasn't much to impede him from doing so. Her home was made of wood and was only comprised of a small common room, which joined two bedrooms, though they looked more like cots from a barracks than anything for comfort. While it did, indeed, have walls, the openings that might have been windows were massive, and Colin quickly realize that the common room had no rooftop.

"I keep an extra room just in case a sentry or a Centurion finds themselves in need of rest. Starbreeze is on the opposite end of Teldrassil, and it's almost a day's trip from one end to the other, though we rarely experience a moon cycle unless we're attempting to do so."

Sure enough, Colin looked up and noticed that there was no sky, but endless leaves and foliage, and a purplish hue that surrounded everything. In his reverie, Kyra spoke up to get his attention.

"Was your journey a difficult one? You may need some rest, perhaps?" Kyra questioned.

Colin didn't answer quickly, as though having to invent an explanation, but he was quick enough, "Oh, yeah, I suppose it was."

Kyra stared at him for a moment, but shook it off as she went on, "Well, I need to check on the furbolgs tomorrow, so I suppose you can tag along to the Hollow. Shouldn't be too dangerous, unless the ley lines become especially influential."

Colin nodded as he unloaded his ruck sack, carefully leaning it against the table as Kyra spoke again, "My home is yours as well. I apologize for the lack of doors; I suppose I could hang a blanket if you need one."

Laughing slightly, Colin shook his head, "Not at all; your hospitality is plenty already. See you tomorrow."

"[Same to you.]"


	2. The Moonwell

Colin awoke the next morning amidst a quiet set of voices. He looked around to see nothing, so he decided to get up and prepared for the day. While most of his work was in the factual realm, one portion he was particularly concerned with was 'Morning', wherein he would describe the mornings, specifically upon waking. While visiting with the Darkspears, a quote of his had been, "The island air is crisp, cool; thick with the stench of mojo by the fire."

On this occasion, Colin was quick to point out that mornings were not at all different from evenings. Time seemed still, permanent, on this tree, as though the elves that inhabited it were attempting to emulate their lost immortality within the time and space of this gigantic tree. In fact, nothing at all had seemed as though it had changed since he'd gone to sleep hours earlier.

He quickly noted his thoughts as he made his way out of the room, turning as he entered the common room and noticing three elven children peeking in through one of the giant windows. Word had clearly gotten around, so he simply smiled with a nervousness that was difficult to hide, lifting his hand to wave, though that only caused the children to run off, either in fright or their own nervousness.

Colin left the home and looked around, noticing Teronis crouched over a bushel of some exotic plant that probably hadn't been seen by any human. Quietly, so as to not disturb him, Colin approached his side, though the older elf was quick to notice him.

"Ishnu-alah, stranger," Teronis spoke calmly, "Kyra has already left for the moonwell. I trust your first night was good?"

"Yes, quite," Colin replied, "Everything about this place seems calm."

Teronus gently stroked a leaf that seemed to have grown apart from its twins on the stalk, "It is a reflection of my people, especially those of us upon Teldrassil. If you live thousands of years, you generally learn to live slower, I suppose. No point in being bored halfway through."

The older man stood up, and although Colin was rather tall, he still seemed to just tower over him before continuing, "It takes a long time to train ourselves to live outside of our home. Everything is so much faster; it could be too much for those unprepared. That's why young Shadowmoon tries to live like a child of Kalimdor."

At his last words, Teronus grinned, "Still, she cannot avoid her love of her home. Few can, to be sure, but I'm afraid she may be the reason, herself, that she remains. Hopefully you can help her take that final step; the children here are so expectant of her becoming a hero of Stormwind, or whatever stories they conjure up."

Colin watched as he began turning to leave, pointing toward to the entrance of the village, "The moonwell is that way, if you'd prefer to go on and start the day. I feel the ley lines are particularly rough; hopefully the furbolgs won't be too difficult."

Teronus gave something that may be considered a smile before sauntering off. Colin watched him part and then began walking toward the moonwell, though also noticing the eyes of the children that followed him. The older night elves seemed to have already become accustomed to his presence, though he understood the curiosity in the minds of the kids.

As he approached the moonwell, Colin was awestruck by what he was seeing, stopping in his tracks. Immediately upon coming into view of the well, he quickly noticed the unmistakable image of Kyra standing there, seeming to be bathing in the water, wholly in the nude as she did so. While he'd approached from behind, she hadn't noticed him, but something had alerted her to his presence, and her head turned around to see him.

She continued what she was doing, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was being watched. She leaned down, dipped her hands underneath the still water, lifted them up and allowed the water to run down her body from the top of her head and flow down the sudden dips and winding curves of her body. Colin was no stranger to lack of clothing, but the sight had been so breathtaking, between Kyra's body and the act itself, which seemed to be a sacred ritual of sorts.

He didn't move when Kyra spoke up, "My apologies. I didn't expect for you to wake this early."

Surprised by the fact that she was apologizing, Colin stammered away, "Oh, n-not at all."

Kyra finished pouring the almost ghostly water down herself and stepped out from the moonwell, now seeming to make an effort to hide her feminine features from Colin. She stood behind a pillar that had been constructed around the well and bent down to collect her clothing, now with Colin looking away at nothing in particular.

"I do know that such things are uncomfortable for humans to witness," Kyra spoke, "One of the reasons it's rare for humans to be here is just that those closer to immortality than others tend to act differently."

"Oh, I understand," Colin replied, almost as though just speaking whatever came to mind immediately.

"Elves don't really lust the same way others may," Kyra explained as she pulled her chest plate up to slide over her head, careful to pull her hair through the top, "We live too many years to concern ourselves with procreation, after all. I do understand that humans are rather quick to the draw, so to speak."

Colin chuckled lightly, rubbing his face, "I believe you know plenty more than you lead on."

Kyra shrugged as she walked out from behind the moonwell, running her fingers through her wet hair, "A brother of mine was rather interested with animal husbandry, which, I suppose, included the humanoid races of Azeroth as well."

Colin watched Kyra picking up a bag she had brought along, following her along as she walked away, "These seem to be a bit more sacred than to be used as bathes, right?"

Kyra turned to him, confused, "Oh, no. We wash elsewhere, but Sisters of Elune simply wash in the purifying waters in these moonwells. We don't even wash the dirt off our hands in them, and if so much as a stray leaf lands inside the water, we must perform rituals to remove the water and replace it."

She sighed heavily, "It's certainly a chore. And please, don't enter one yourself. I'm fairly certain humans aren't allowed."

Colin nodded, silently taking in everything he was hearing. The two had been walking down a road that had been laid down with a multitude of rocks, which was supposed to be the one and only road on the tree. They had left Starbreeze Village, and were, apparently, off to deal with some furbolg creatures.

"Time for me to ask some questions," Kyra asked, rather suddenly, as though having waited long enough, "What do you know of night elves? I mean, like the general knowledge."

She turned and saw that Colin was thinking before she clarified, "True or otherwise."

Thinking, Colin began to speak slowly, "Well… Very mysterious, I guess. Quiet, stern. I remember when I was a kid, a druid came through Theramore and we all were sort of scared, but at the same time thought he was a superhero. You just seem as though you're from an older age."

Kyra nodded, staring forward, "I suppose we do come across as such."

"Not that you can't be fun or anything," Colin went on, reassuringly, "There were some kids watching me curiously and giggling when I woke up. I didn't even know night elves had children, to be honest."

Kyra grinned, as though some great secret had been let out, "To be fair, many of us don't even see children for hundreds of years either."

Colin scratched the back of his head, "I suppose being close to immortality definitely is different."

The two walked along, quietly, though for no particular reason, but Colin was, indeed, in thought. If he was truly here to learn what he could about this culture, he shouldn't hold back the question that had been lingering on his mind, perhaps as long as he'd heard those ancient stories of the high elves.

"Do you ever feel as though being immortal, or close to it, has its drawbacks?"

Kyra smiled, albeit a bit sadly, "That's always on our minds. I sometimes am jealous that my life isn't fleeting; that I'm not forced to appreciate every moment, because it could be my last. That's partially why I wanted to become a soldier; you're forced into thinking like a mortal."

She paused for a moment, stopping her walking as well, turning toward Colin, who'd paused as well, "Even the dragonflight sometimes peer at mortals with jealousy."

Colin couldn't help but gulp at a sentence so magnanimous, but Kyra smiled slightly before continuing on the road, "Dolanaar is close by. We'll check in and ask about any furbolg activity; they're usually the first ones to know. Besides, you can visit with some of the residents there; admittedly, they're more used to visitors than most you've met."

The two arrived in no time, especially since there was no way to tell, at all, how much time had truly passed. As Colin thought about it, he realized that it could even have been the middle of the night and he wouldn't have known. Regardless, he allowed his thoughts to leave his mind as he followed Kyra into the small village, a lot less sleepy than Starbreeze had been. There was a certain bustle here, or at least however much there could have been in a night elf town; everybody seemed to be doing something, anyway.

Kyra led him to the tallest tree in the town, which had been hollowed out and had a ramp that swirled up to the tree top, and stopped him, "Talonkai will have word of any goings on that will concern me. Just stay here and explore the village if you'd like."

Colin nodded as she walked off and into the tree, and he turned to examine his surroundings. The people of Dolanaar were certainly not as intrigued by him as he'd come to expect, and even the ones that peered up at him didn't spend much time lingering to watch him.

He walked on and into the open-air inn that sat close by, examining the craftsmanship. All of the night elf buildings he had seen were made from the local lumber, but much like everything else on this island, it seemed to have a sort of non-mortal quality to it.

He noticed another moonwell, houses, and some buildings that may have been for working. More transfixed than anything, he took a seat on some rocks that stood on top of a hill toward a lake, pulled out an enchanted quill that never lost its ink, and began roughly sketching the scene before him.

He didn't get too far when a Sentinel walked by, curiously, and watched what he'd been doing, though Colin was too involved to notice. The armored woman slowly walked behind him and peered over his shoulder, admiring what she was seeing.

Completely absorbed in his work, Colin had no idea that more and more people were coming up behind him to watch him draw, surprised by the fact that a human was so beautifully emulating their home in a sketch. While quite a bit of them hadn't met a human before, they were quickly amazed.

"[Nice detailing]," spoke one of his viewers, which forced Colin to jump and spin around, a bit perturbed by the audience that, to him, appeared out of nowhere.

The woman who had first showed up looked down at him, "[How'd you get to be here?]"

Colin could only stare back at her, still surprised, and now confused by being addressed in a foreign tongue. He didn't reply, but Kyra had returned from her meeting and she quickly walked over to the group of people who were still surprised by Colin's presence.

"[He's with me]," Kyra spoke, coming to a stop in front of Colin, "[He's visiting for a week; nothing to be concerned about.]"

Colin switched from looking at one to the other, now that the Sentinel had spoken up, "[I did not mean to insinuate ill intent, Sister. I'm just explaining what everyone here is thinking.]"

"[And I understand that]," Kyra continued, grabbing Colin by the arm and pulling him to his feet, "[If you'll excuse us. Elune be with you all.]"

As Kyra walked off, Colin followed along, waving nervously at the group of elves that watched him leave. He was still confused by their reaction; the tone of the two's voices seemed to be a bit more forceful than anything, even for the most stoic of night elves he had encountered thus far.

"I knew it was not normal for visitors to be here," Colin spoke up, finally, as the two left the village, "But she almost seemed hostile."

Kyra shook her head, "Shandra is very devoted to her post. Though you are correct; very few visitors come to Darnassus, much less the rest of Teldrassil. Tyriel must have jumped through a lot of hoops to get you here."

The two continued along as she continued, "When the Legion attempted to cover the world, we were already apprehensive to allow guests. I do not wish to say we despise visitors, we just simply don't encourage it. Our magic tree that teleports to and from Darnassus to Rut'theran is scary enough for most visitors, already, to discourage entry."

Colin nodded, following along with a grin, "Very true."

Kyra turned to him as they walked along, "It must have been similar, what with living on Theramore, correct?"

Shrugging, Colin answered, "I suppose, at least from land. The gates were consistently closed, but we had plenty of sea traffic from boats trying to make it big down in Gadgetzan. Part of the reason I do this is simply because I was introduced to so many ideas from so many people who came by; I didn't not want to learn about it all."

He grinned as he thought about his childhood, "There was this peddler that came in off a boat, a draenei, and he had just the coolest assortment of trinkets, and this was back when we knew absolutely nothing about them; he had these totems that were more mechanical than anything, and they'd just sit there are fire off fireballs at any spider that approached it. Ah, it was so cool."

He began laughing as he spoke, which caught Kyra's attention. She had had memories that could have possibly been comparable to the ones Colin was describing, but at that moment, she realized she hadn't had the same kind of emotion to go along with them. As she peered off, distantly, Colin paused his recollections, looking over at her, noticing that her normally emotionless face had a sort of sadness to it.

"Sorry," he spoke, "I know you probably want to leave so you can see new things like that as well."

She didn't correct him.


	3. The Run-In at Ban'ethil

The two approached Ban'ethil Hollow, carefully making their way down from the hill that led up to the path they'd been walking on. Colin had recounted to her what Teronis had told him about the ley lines being "rough", which Talonkai had also explained to her during their meeting.

"Furbolgs are simple beings," Kyra explained as the two made their way further, "Which isn't to say they're any lesser than any other species. However, the more simple beings become, the more in-tune with the finer points of the world they seem to be, also. Ley lines, for instance, can cause them to become agitated simply because they're so tuned into their power."

Colin nodded, "I truly am admiring of the way you choose coexistence over culling them off."

Kyra grinned, "On the mainland, we wouldn't be as lenient. Teldrassil, however, belongs as much to the dragonflight as it does to us, if not more. Far be it from us to dictate who lives or dies on this crown of the earth. The grellkin are borderline dangerous, but even then, we allow them the same rights to live here as the dragonflight has given us."

As she finished, Colin finally noticed a group of bear-like humanoids walking around confusedly, as though not knowing which way was straight. He figured that this was part of the whole ley line thing, but also thought it might have just been what the "simple" creatures did. Sure enough, as they approached, Kyra only nodded to herself, knowingly, as though pleased with their activity.

They walked among the pack of furbolg, with Colin even bumping his shoulder into one on accident, they were so clustered together. Its coarse fur sent a shock through to the base of his skull, the beast hardly reacting to the contact.

"Well, they do seem fine," Kyra noted to herself, "But we need to go into their den, just to make sure."

Colin nodded affirmatively, following along as Kyra thought aloud, "We'll need to count them on the way out."

"Twenty-eight," Colin noted, as though it was the easiest thing to remember.

His leader turned to him questioningly, so he shrugged in reply, "My memory isn't photographic, but I'm often on the run, so I tend to remember scenes so that I can draw them later on. These things are kind of cute, though I don't think we have them 'cross the Maelstrom."

Kyra nodded in understanding as the two walked down the long and winding corridor. Colin could feel the humidity building as they descended, his clothing becoming more and more restraining in the heat. He could tell that there were many, many more of these creatures, simply by the temperature.

While Kyra seemed firm in this venture, she turned to warn her companion, "Be careful. Just because the ones on the surface were fine doesn't mean anything to the ones down here."

"Alright," Colin replied, the two entering the main area, though he couldn't see any sign of any furbolgs.

"Even if they've turned feral, it's no big deal," Kyra explained, comfortingly, "The fact that I'm bringing you along can attest to that."

Colin grinned, "Even if I don't fight?"

"Precisely," Kyra finished as they stopped atop a platform held up in the air by some massive roots coming from the ceiling.

"Well, they must be hibernating," she guessed, looking around, "If they were feral, we'd have known by now. Let's head on out."

Colin nodded, though he paused as he turned to leave, "Hold on."

Kyra followed his gaze, which was fixed on the bottom floor, toward a particularly dark corner. As soon as her body allowed, Kyra's eyes shot open and she jumped down from the platform, two stories up, landing on her feet and running toward what happened to be a body.

"Dalvyn!" she shouted, examining his body as she quickly realized that he was dead.

Not nearly as agile, Colin had left his spot to find his way down to where Kyra was, but he quickly noticed a pair of furbolgs coming his way. He quickly crouched down into a corner, pulling his hood over his head to appear to be some boulder, or at least, that was the idea. He knew nothing if the creatures, but they didn't seem to be the brightest beings ever.

He heard the heavy pads of their feet clump past him, allowing him a sigh of relief as he carefully left his refuge. They had gone up to where he'd last stood with his host, so he had little choice but to continue descending to where she'd gone. Slowly checking around corners, Colin made his way down, but as he eventually came across the body of the elf from earlier, the realization that the two of them were separated finally hit him.

Cursing under his breath, he knew that she's come back for this person at some point, so he crawled into one of the shallow holes that had been carved into the walls, making sure his view was on the entry way.

As he sat there, he began sweating from the humidity, and he rapidly pulled at his collar to try and find some air circulation, but it was no use. He gasped for some fresh air, but as he adjusted his body, he gasped for a different reason: fear. His hand had grasped a tuft of fur, his eyes locking onto an open pair of deep pupils from the beast he'd crawled in with.

For a moment, the furbolg and Colin stared back at one another, shocked, but Colin gave a quick, yet nervous, chuckle as he smiled, waving his hand, "Hello there…"

The furbolg angrily roared, swinging its arms, catching Colin in the face before knocking him out into the larger area. He looked up to see a group of them, having been summoned by the ruckus, and he groaned, having recalled a certain Dwarven story from his past that could have been similar to this.

Colin sat anxiously in his makeshift jail, made up of driftwood. He'd immediately known that simply falling into the bars would have ensured his escape, but the flimsy prison wasn't keeping him here, it was the two furbolg jailers who sat there, aimlessly staring into space. He had tried to sit and do something productive, but he was too riled up and thinking about Kyra's predicament.

Be didn't have to worry for long, as Kyra suddenly appeared, her wrists and ankles tied to a pole that two furbolgs had carried the ends of. Colin quickly noticed them upon hearing the unmistakable sound of loud Elven curse words. He was on a higher platform, but wasn't obstructed from her view.

"Kyra!" he shouted.

She suddenly stopped yelling and looked around, unable to find her guest, "Colin?! Where are you?!"

"Up here! I don't think we're in any danger; I think were being saved for something. At least, I am."

Kyra shot a glance up to a perch which wasn't where Colin was, "Of course we are. They're going to use me as trade bait to get something in return."

Colin quickly noted that she had failed to explain his ultimate destination, though he could quickly infer that it wasn't good. Despite her fate being reasonably harmless, she was still furiously trying to break free.

"So, uh, what about me?"

Kyra's head went limp for a bit, hanging down toward the ground, almost in thought, before he answered, "Well, they don't eat elves."

Colin's eyes opened wider than he could have ever remembered, though it shouldn't have come as much of a shock. He'd been threatened by impalement, evisceration, and even some maiming by a particularly cruel Tauren druid, but being eaten was a particularly common prospect for him by this point in his life.

To this end, given what he knew about this creatures, Colin quickly rummaged through his bag, fondling around for a certain jar of salve he carried with him. He carefully dipped his hand into the jar, doing his best to hide his disgust. He whistled shrilly, catching his jailer's attention, and offered his hand out from behind the bars.

"Mmm, smells tasty, eh?" Colin goaded, "Want a sample?"

The furbolg examined his hand carefully, definitely admiring of the delicious stench of rotten meat, and it leaned over to lick Colin's hand, which, again, forced him to hide his disgust. Within a second of the taste, the furbolg pulled back, angrily swiping at its tongue to remove the salve. Colin grinned at his plan's working, though the fear returned when the two furbolgs stomped over and picked his cage up.

They carried it down toward the level that Kyra had been on, and Colin finally felt a wave of comfort upon seeing her in the same room as him, though her face held a look of dread.

"Kyra!" he shouted, "They don't want to eat me anymore!"

She stared at him, as though furious at such an idea, "Well, it's not much better here."

Colin looked around as the two brutes dropped his cage beside Kyra, who was lying down on the ground, still tied up to the pole. He noticed a pile of dead carcasses, most of them having been brutally mauled to death in vicious attempts at a meal.

"Okay," Colin spoke, matter-of-factly.

Kyra snorted angrily, "Yeah, I don't think I'll be bait; at least not for reading, anyway."

Colin took solace in the fact that the two furbolgs had left and they were the only two in the cavern. He wiped off his hand on some cloth nearby and kicked out some of the wooden bars that had held him imprisoned.

"Guess they didn't know whether or not that was enough," Kyra spoke, "Being a new creature has its advantages."

Colin grinned as he got to work on the knots holding Kyra in place, "This isn't my first rodeo; I've been in worse situations with brighter beings before."

He'd started on her ankles, and as he'd fished out the knot, he scooted up to her hands and went to work on freeing them. He was surprised by how her hands felt whenever he accidentally made contact with them. They were incredibly soft, and even in the darkness, her pinkish skin appeared particularly rosy. He might have even taken longer than needed, just to have another accident or two.

Finally freed, Kyra stood up and immediately grasped the back of Colin's collar, making her way to the entry way, "You're my responsibility, and I'm not about to have you die here."

He couldn't help but grin, noticing how seriously she was taking this, as though she were a Silverwing on a dangerous reconnaissance mission deep in the forests of Ashenvale. The two carefully made their way up the Burrow, Kyra quickly giving up on her weapons, which had been taken from her.

"So you don't fight?" she inquired, quietly.

Colin replied, almost immediately, "Just because I don't want to doesn't mean I can't, or won't. You have my whole word; if our lives are at stake, I've got your back."

Kyra nodded, rather surprised at the answer, but she went ahead and picked up a random piece of bark that was lying on the ground, handing it back to Colin. He took it and stared at it pithily, throwing it back over his shoulder to discard the 'weapon'.

Sure enough, the two made it out of the Burrow, carefully avoiding the cluster of furbolgs that littered the area just outside, not knowing if they'd be as mindless as when they'd arrived. As soon as they were free, Kyra immediately sped up her pace, as though forgetting she had a companion with her.

"I need to get word to Dolanaar," she spoke urgently, "I don't know why Dalvyn was down there, but I check on the furbolgs every fortnight, so it may or may not be recent."

Colin followed along, hurriedly, but was left alone as soon as the small town came into view, as though Kyra knew he could find his way back at that point. He assuredly did as such, finding his way to the inn and taking a seat. There was a collection of ornate bows beside him, some of them with glistening metallic panels on them, which allowed him a chance to see his bruised face.

"Killer right hook," he groaned, rubbing his cheek.

He sat there for a few moments before hearing the unmistakable voice if a woman above him, getting his attention as he peered upward. There stood a young night elf lady, who was obviously a priestess of some sort, looking down at him with concern.

She spoke again, still in Darnassian, "[Are you alright, child?]"

Colin only stared blankly at her, until she caught on, "My apologies. I seldom practice the tongue on our allies. Are you alright?"

Nodding his head, Colin answered, "Oh, yes; thank you."

She stared down at him, not moving, and once Colin lowered his head, she softly lifted it back up with her hand, examining his bruise. Immediately entranced by her glittering eyes, Colin didn't instantly move his head once her hand left his face.

"Come," she mentioned, "Let's have you cleansed by the waters of Elune."

Colin followed along, but quickly noticed that they were headed toward a moonwell, "I'm not sure I'm supposed to be."

The priestess spoke softly, but it still sounded as though she was chiding her follower, "Elune is able to help whomever needs her help. Our mother cares for all life, even those not borne of Cenarius."

Colin didn't reply to this, only following along silently, though with an unmistakably downtrodden cantor. She led him to the moon well and directed him to sit down on its edge. She held the back of his neck as she lowered him just over the still water, her other hand reaching into the shallow depths. She raised her hand out and gently laid it against Colin's cheeks, watching his stoic face stare off into the distance.

She held his cheek for a few moments before removing her hand and staring down at his face. He looked over toward her, knowing instantly that whatever she was doing hadn't worked. She gently lifted him up from the moonwell and pulled out a cloth to wipe off her hand.

"Elune offers her hand to help, yet you refuse it," she spoke, almost in a whisper.

Colin stared off into the abyss, distantly, not able to find a reply. The whole ritual had left him rather upset, though he hid it underneath his silent demeanor.

"I truly hope you find the voice of Elune, my child," the woman spoke, "I can feel a great deal of pain within you. Pain that only the gods can mend, perhaps. If that is the case, Teldrassil is the best place for you, for there is no closer to the spirit of our mother."

Colin still didn't reply, nor did he move as the priestess turned to take her leave. He felt of his cheek, finding his skin to still be tender, before standing up and silently making his way back to where he had originally been stationed.

"Waste of time…" he muttered to himself, quietly.


	4. Weakness Between Strangers

Colin sat at the table that had been borrowed by Kyra from a friend in order to have her home be more hospitable. In truth, her residence was often empty, save for the cots, and a chest of drawers that held her clothing and served as a spot to leave pictures of family or small relics of her past. Sitting alone, Colin could see out through the open wall that Kyra and some of the others were making a communal dinner, with everyone gathered around a pit of fire.

Having excused himself, Colin had actually gone to lay down, only saying that it had been a long day, which Kyra certainly had understood. He had kept his head down the entire way home, and the two didn't discuss much of anything on the way. Eventually, he'd gotten up and sat at the table, pulling out his sketchbook and reviewing what he'd drawn so far.

He began drawing a rough sketch of the Ban'ethil Hollow when Kyra walked in with two wooden bowls, carefully placing them on the table before leaving and returning with water for the two of them, careful not to bother her guest.

"Lentils and rabbit stew," she spoke quietly, inheriting the mood that Colin had brought with him.

He put away his work and took a look at dinner, "Looks good, actually. I didn't know you ate animals."

She shrugged, "We need some sustenance. As long as it's respected and blessed, though a lot of the time we do forego it, at least here. Teldrassil is different in that regard as well."

She sat down and began eating. Colin, still downtrodden, finally lifted his head to eat, which caused Kyra to peer over toward him. Suddenly, her spoon fell to the table, which forced Colin to look up at her for a better view at what had happen.

"Oh, mother," she spoke, rather reverently, "You've been touched by the hand of Elune!"

Surprised, Colin quickly rubbed his cheek again with his sleeve, "Really? I thought I'd gotten it off."

Kyra quickly leaned over and examined his face, surprised, "You were not healed?"

Colin groaned, not wanting to go through this again, "The priestess said I didn't accept it or whatever."

"You…" Kyra began, before pausing and leaning back in her chair, "You refused the help of Elune?"

Signing heavily, Colin pulled the bowl of stew closer to him, "Let's just not talk about it. That's not what this is all about, anyway."

Kyra stared at him for a few more moments before returning to her food as well, realizing the worth of his words. Being said, however, the pair were two days out of seven done with their meeting and they'd already learned a bit about each other as people. Being nearly eaten and killed by furbolgs may have that effect on any two people.

Colin awoke the next day much like he had the day before, even if "day" was unknown to him at this point. He stood up and stretched lankily, the previous day being in the past as of now. He had decided to start anew, and although he promised it to himself, he hoped Kyra would also abide by this thought.

He exited the small room and quickly noticed that Kyra was still asleep herself, which surprised him. He walked to the massive window and noticed that everyone appeared to be asleep or, at least, indoors. Thinking quickly, and perhaps groggily still, he determined this to be a good time to explore alone and perhaps get some candid drawing of the forest.

He didn't leave the town, but made it to the farthest edges of it as he sat down and pulled out his sketchpad, drawing the forest that surrounded him. Its pink and purple hues were difficult to translate into a sketch, but he would remember it well long after he left; that dreamesque quality that seemed completely original to this place. The tranquility of the atmosphere seemed contagious, as most of the lesser fauna were wholly tame, and a nightsaber even came up to him for a chin scratch.

The zen feeling that encompassed him was so euphoric that he wasn't even aware of what he was drawing, suddenly noticing that Kyra had somehow made it into his art. He quickly readied his quill with an erasing spell, but paused as he stared Kyra's eyes, which were so much darker when drawn in ink. He had amazed himself by how well-drawn it was, so he figured he might as well keep it. He now worried about life after this visit, without such a beauteous being at his side.

Deep in thought, he jumped at the sound of Kyra's voice before spinning around, noticing just a twinge of sleepiness in her eyes. Colin quickly turned the page in his book and sighed relaxedly.

"Couldn't sleep?"

He chuckled, "I'm not sure. If I'd slept thirty minutes, it could have been hours."

She watched him drawing for a moment before joining him, sitting at an angle to allow him privacy, he seemed to be holding his book away from her gaze. Colin now kept his eyes strictly on the paper in front of him, though he allowed only the most sudden of flickers of his eyes up toward his host.

"I apologize for what happened at dinner," Kyra spoke softly, "Truth be told, I may be a priestess of Elune myself, but I've never seen her glow like that before."

Colin looked up at her, confused, so she continued, "Elune's glow. You were touched by moonwell water, correct? It leaves a glow wherever it touches, assuming that you've received our mother's blessing."

As Colin reached up to feel his cheek, Kyra smiled, "It's gone now."

He went back to drawing, silently, and Kyra remained quiet herself, looking around at the surrounding forest. She spent much of her time focused on her odd jobs or thinking about the mainland that she often forgot to see the world around her. Now was a time where she truly noticed what all surrounded her.

"I can't believe in Elune," Colin muttered, quietly.

Kyra turned to him, concerned, though she remained silent, waiting for him to continue on his own time, "If she truly was invested in the lives of mortals… If any of the gods or aspects were truly interested in helping, they would have done so long ago, when Theramore was spending months watching its people die. When I was watching my mother die, my friends."

He had stopped drawing, and now stared off into the distance, "I know that they're not supposed to, and I don't hold that against them. But if they won't concern themselves with me, I understood long ago that I wouldn't concern myself with them."

Kyra sat there, listening, but still appeared absent-minded as she thought. Colin slowly returned to his sketches, his peace having been said. It wasn't something that he ever intended to say, especially to a people who seemed to be so in touch with their goddess, but not only did he feel the need to explain himself, but he and Kyra had already become rather close. He at least felt comfortable around her.

Kyra didn't ever reply to him. For whatever reason, the two sat there in silence for a long while, until they began speaking about other things. Colin didn't really understand why Kyra never pushed the topic further; even if she, herself, shared the same ideas, she certainly did little to express them. In the end, he simply left it at believing Kyra understood that religion wasn't their goal this week, and perhaps they should focus on other matters. Despite it all, he never could shake the feeling that his cheek always seemed warmer at the sight of moonwells now.

The next day came as any other day did; the world remained much the same, except for Kyra, anyway. All Colin could gather was that there was going to be some inquest of sorts regarding the death of Dalvyn, simply to ask questions and ascertain what had happened. Attributing it to her sense of duty, regardless of how unwanting of the post she harbored; Colin figured that she felt responsible nevertheless.

She hadn't talked at all most of the day, now that her meeting with Talonkai was approaching. She did speak to her friend, from whom she'd borrowed her table, Wrethys, to watch Colin, as though he were a pet. This mainly meant to make sure he wouldn't wander off or something.

Wrethys was noticeably younger than even Kyra. Colin found it both confusing and incredible at just how difficult it was for him to gauge the relative age of anybody. Obviously, if the gaps were great, that was one thing, but Wrethys appeared to be quite a bit noticeably younger.

"I'm only eight hundred years old," she answered, taking a sip of some silverleaf tea, passing the pot of warm water over toward Colin, "Help yourself. Hopefully it isn't too foreign to you."

Colin obliged, though finding the tea rather enjoyable, "You say 'only' like that's not equivalent to nine or ten human lives."

Wrethys laughed solemnly, "It's all relative, I suppose."

Colin took another sip, turning to see Teronis approaching the two, to which Wrethys waved him over in invitation. He seemed to have accepted, as he came along and took a seat.

"So is Kyra going to be disbarred or something?"

"Goodness, no," Teronis shot, quickly, "Once you become a Priestess of Elune, you're a priestess for life. More than likely, she'll be more harsh on herself than Talonkai will be."

Colin turned to Wrethys, who'd begun speaking, "In her entire tenure, nobody has ever died. Not like this, anyway."

Her visitor nodded, sadly, "Oh… I see."

Teronis sighed, "She's always been like this. She has to be, at least, that's what she believes. She's prefer it more to never appear as weak as she used to be. Not that somebody being assaulted by furbolgs makes her weak, but that it happened on her watch, that's the big deal here."

Sensing a downtrodden atmosphere, Wrethys nervously poured some more tea into everyone's cups, even she only poured a miniscule amount for herself it was so unneeded.

"How do you like the table?" she blurted out, randomly, "My father crafted it from wood from Mount Hyjal that had been petrified by Archimonde's army."

Colin turned to her, rather surprised, "Really?"

She began to speak again, but Teronis made a grumble that only she could hear, it seemed, as she refrained from doing so. Teronis, instead started to speak.

"You know the way to Dolanaar?" he asked, receiving a nod from Colin, "You should head on over there, if only to help her out once her meeting is over. She seems to have an easier time around you when it comes to realizing emotions; we don't exactly come across as such here on Teldrassil."

"Oh," Colin spoke, confused, "Yeah, I can go along. She was expecting me here; do you think it'd be prudent?"

Teronis' face didn't move an inch, though Colin felt the unmistakable aura of a smile coming from his voice, "I think it would be fine."

Colin did as was suggested, rather hurriedly, if he was going to catch up to Kyra before she left. He had walked the road from Dolanaar to Starbreeze three times before now, and he had already come to recognize the lay of the land flowing on either side of it. What he didn't recognize on this trip was the sudden appearance of a Satyr, which seemed incredibly out of place on this tree in the first place, who stood beside a tree as if hiding from someone.

Initially, Colin figured that he would just walk on along without making much notice of it at all, which had saved his neck many times before in more dangerous territory. He was beginning to think the war was perpetuated only by either side staring nastily at the other. However, to his chagrin, the satyr jumped from a minor sense of camouflage and presented himself.

"A human?" he asked, "Here? What a pleasant sight! My name is Zenn, and… Say, how would you like to make a "killing", eh? Five nightsaber tails for five silver. Deal?"

"Sorry," Colin muttered under his breath, "I don't even enjoy harming humanoids. Slaying more peaceful creatures might be impossible in that case."

Colin waved his hand to decline, which seemed to miff Zenn enough to keep him from retorting with anything. He began again towards Dolanaar, leaving the satyr to huff some hot air as the creature burrowed against the tree again to lie in wait for the next passerby, perhaps so long as they weren't clad in the armor of the Sentries.

In a haste, however, Colin arrived at Dolanaar, standing by the tree that Kyra had gone into the day before to speak to this Talonkai person. Besides the name and his rank, Colin didn't know much at all about him. He sat beside the small deck of an entryway that led into the tree, taking up a spot beside some hippogryph nests. The one closest to him stared at his face, curiously tilting its head before turning back to wherever it had been facing.

Sitting in such a hidden place, Colin was afforded a new experience as he sat and watched everybody around him acting naturally, as they were unaware of any guests. Other than the lack of minute stares, they didn't act much different at all, however, it was the idea that counted, Colin thought.

Soon enough, he heard slow footsteps coming from above him, upon the deck leading into Talonkai's tree. He looked up to see Kyra walking, or maybe stumbling, out, her face a dark shade that he hadn't seen before. Her face was so downtrodden that Colin was shocked, almost thinking it was a different person. He stood up and walked over to her, though she made no indication that she'd acknowledged his presence. She simply held her head low, turning to walk home, with Colin following behind.

The trip back was silent, as even Colin didn't feel comfortable speaking a word. They had become friends to a certain point, but not having seen her life this before, he wasn't exactly sure if what to do or how she would react to consoling words.

Apparently, he had assumed correctly. Once they returned to Starbreeze Village, while Kyra was given a few sad glances her way, nobody spoke a word to her. Perhaps she just needed to be alone, which Colin surmised, choosing to stay outside as Kyra walked into her home. He sighed, sadly, rather upset with himself that he couldn't do much to help.

A few of her neighbors, firstly Wrethys, came by to ask what had happened or how Kyra was doing. As he didn't know himself, Colin couldn't give much in the way of replies, though with every question, he felt more saddened by his inaction. Finally, after one of the children had come by to say they were going to gather peacebloom, Colin had had enough, turning to quietly enter Kyra's home.

It seemed darker than normal, but only because Kyra's normally light pink skin had faded to a darker shade. She was sitting at the table, leaning over to hide her face in her arms, her body shaking periodically as she wept. Colin watched for only a moment, not wanting to act weird.

"Kyra?" he asked, quietly.

Her face shot up at his voice, staring at him in shock, probably not wanting to have been seen. Colin stared back at her; her face had the expression of a lost child, and her eyes had dimmed as tears of pure starlight crept down her cheeks from her eyes, which shone like the moon. He honestly believed that he had never seen anything so tragically beautifully.

The two didn't move for just a few moments, both of them stumbling onto hollow grounds. Kyra was the first to react, moving to stand on her feet, obviously embarrassed by the scene.

"I was just-"

She had shut her eyes upon standing, in a vain attempt to cover her tears, but before she could open them again, she felt a sure warmth surround her body, opening her eyes to find her eyes meeting with Colin's shoulder. He had leaned forward to hug her, rather tightly at that, not knowing what else to do. He knew human women were usually in need of such things, though now he was praying to himself that he wasn't breaking some sacred Night Elf law or something.

He must not have, as Kyra's quivering came to a pause, though mostly due to wholesale surprise. She hadn't even a recollection of being held by her family, much less somebody she barely knew. If not in the middle of such a shock, she might have realized that mortals were more apt to such things, though she now only stared into the cloth that nearly met her face.

Not knowing when to stop, Colin decided to play it safe, gently retreating from her body and trying to remain calm amid this new development. Kyra didn't move for what seemed like an eternity, though Colin simply stood there anyway, not wanting to further unbalance the scale. Suddenly Kyra's eyes closed again, tightly, and she released a tiny whimper as stars formed from her eyelids and she slowly fell into Colin's torso, which readily accepted her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders once more, allowing her head to rest upon him.

The two didn't speak for hours after that, perhaps simply to avoid any awkward conversation. Colin wasn't as shocked by it, though, owing to most night elves choosing to be solitary in the first place, figuring she normally acted this way. Besides that, she obviously wasn't one to seek comfort, given how shocked she had been, so he already figured she might be embarrassed.

She always seemed very strong and even, and for the most part, Colin had a difficult time even imagining her being anything else that stoic and, occasionally, pithy. As he sat outside, giving her room to process the day, which was very much what Colin was doing as well, he reran through the experience again and again, feeling like an idiot for being so boldly rash, though she had taken him into a hug as well, so it couldn't have been all bad, he figured.

Soon enough, he turned to see Kyra taking a seat next to him, though it was rather a distance a way. She didn't speak, and actually still seemed a tad bit uncomfortable, but she stared off into the distance, which Colin returned to doing as well as he thought of what to do or what to say.

Wrestling with constructing a sentence, he was taken back by Kyra's voice emerging, "I don't cry."

Colin turned to her, confused, as she went on after a short pause, "I did that enough as a child when I couldn't hunt spiders or wasn't allowed go with dad to Darnassus for the weekend. When I was weak, I cried."

Her head lowered down onto her knees as her legs had been pulled up toward her chest, "You're the only one who has seen me weak since I've become a Sentinel."

Understanding the gravity of what had happened early, Colin quietly replied, "I don't think you were weak. If you were, it was but a moment. It takes a lot of strength to surrender yourself to somebody else; much less a stranger."

Kyra grinned, "You humans are so helpless."

Shrugging, Colin returned a smile. Despite her words, he had a feeling that she had accepted his words; her reply probably being a rough attempt at deflecting that fact. Come to think of it, she never asked for help either; she had the whole world on her shoulders.

"Still," she muttered, quietly, "Thank you."

Colin replied only with a nod. and a smile.


	5. An Unexpected Sending

Over the course of the next few days, the two spent plenty of time talking about anything and everything. Kyra had learned a lot, and was feeling more and more confident by the day that she was more prepared than ever to leave. Colin had recounted his story of getting to Teldrassil, particularly his venture through Darkshore, which was an immediate stop that Kyra wanted to make on her way into the world.

Oddly enough, Colin glossed over the story past that, as though he just teleported to Teldrassil itself, but she didn't think much about it, being too absorbed with his descriptions of Lor'danel. As they talked, they'd been taking in Shadowglen, which Colin took a great interest in, greatly admiring the great tree at its center.

The two had climbed the winding ramp to the top, and now descended back down as Kyra began, "All initiates train here. Since it's pretty much the farthest from Darnassus, it's more of a symbolic way to start down the path to being a Sentinel, or Priestess of Elune, or wherever we end up.

Colin nodded, rubbing some ichor from his robe that stubbornly clung on to it, "Why'd you become a Sentinel? I mean, besides wanting to leave here and pursue a legacy?"

She grinned at the thought of having a "legacy", and she answered, "Truth be told, I wasn't like this when I was a child. I was very frail, I guess, which is incredibly odd for us anyway. So for most of my life I was seen as weak, inferior; nobody dared tell me that, but I could see it on their faces. My parents and siblings were very kind, but even they saw me as a sort of burden."

They left the great ramp and stopped, "We aren't as "familial" in our nuclear families, at least not as familial as you may be accustomed to. We have a greater sense of family when it comes to night elves as a whole, so it's never really as magnified to a single group of four or five. So it was really no surprise that even my parents thought me worth little."

She peered over toward Colin, who was looking at her through a sort of vacant expression before he realized he was being stared at, lowering his head before she spoke, "Are you listening?"

"Of course!" he replied, readily, "I'm just, uh, enthralled, I guess."

"You seem to be enthralled often."

Muted, Colin tightened his lips, "I'd say it's more a testament to your storytelling."

"You get a knack for it when all you do is ask to hear them from travelers, I suppose," Kyra replied.

"In any case," she continued, "I trained and made myself stronger. I prayed to Elune, I wrestled the boys, and I even ran off in search of a bear or something to fight. Much to Talonkai's chagrin, surely."

She laughed, which Colin was sure was as rare as this conversation Kyra was having with another person, "I guess I just have an innate sense of proving people wrong. The reason I want to leave in simply because all my siblings have. Maybe I just want to prove myself."

Colin nodded with a smirk, "Well, I certainly hope you accomplish what you want to and more. You'd have a much longer path to greatness if you accompanied me through Azeroth, that's for sure."

Kyra looked at him, skeptically, "What does that mean?"

As far as Colin knew, she was being serious, not joking or making merry. Quickly noticing what he had implied, he nervously stared ahead, nearly quivering.

"Were you making a pass at me?" she asked, uncomfortably bluntly.

"N-No, of course not," he muttered, "I just meant it as a joke is all."

Kyra stared at him, almost cruelly, watching him rub his face in shame. Quickly enough, however, she revealed not only a smile, but a soft chuckle.

Colin looked at her, surprised, "Hang on. Were you teasing me?"

She grinned, nodding her head, "We may be as resilient as a rock surrounded by a river, but we still have fun. Didn't you know?"

Sighing, Colin lowered his head, "I was just beginning to forget…"

The two started off again as Kyra finished up her subdued giggling, "It's a good thing, in any case."

"What is?"

Kyra looked on as they walked, "It's quite the unspoken rule among night elves. We allow mortals to have our help, our time, but you never allow a mortal to have your heart. Especially if you're one who truly gives all to your lover, you never take a mortal. It gets incredibly lonely loving the ty of their lifetimes."

Colin couldn't help but notice a tug in his heart at hearing this, though he quickly understood it to be true. He didn't speak up, but Kyra began going on a tangent about some nursery rhyme or something that she'd been familiar with growing up, but Colin wasn't truly paying much attention.

With familiarity came expediency, most of Colin's time flew by. He had learned a lot, mostly in the first two days, surprisingly, but he couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness as he began to leave. He attributed it to the fact that he had, never before, spent much time with anyone in this fashion. True, he had friends, but even when exploring the most exotic of cultures, he had mostly been allowed to observe alone; he had never been assigned to spend the duration with any one person.

Besides that, the people of Teldrassil were already rather solitary, and even Kyra had periods of time where she remained silent herself. That being said, being left alone was of no co sequence to Colin, who usually drew everything he could in order to preserve the imagery he had come to admire.

With two days left, Colin and Kyra had become familiar enough to become rather good friends. To her surprise, Kyra was comfortable enough to divulge stories about herself that she's never revealed before, though she wasn't exactly sure of the reason. Perhaps her peers just never asked, themselves, or maybe it was because, after Colin left, what he knew was of little consequence. In any case, she enjoyed having a sort of confidant, and Colin respected that trust.

"If you ever stop in Ashenvale, be sure to spot out my sister, Vylira; she'd a Silverwing herself," Kyra related, writing down the names and locations of her siblings as Colin stood beside her, skipping stones across one of the few lakes upon Teldrassil.

"You've mentioned her before," Colin noted, grinning, "You future Silverwing."

Kyra smiled herself, another trait she's noticed had come with Colin's arrival. She attributed it to just being alongside a human, but she couldn't say she hated being a bit more expressive. If anything, it only heightened her wanting to leave and be among mortals.

"My good friend, Lyera, she left for Stormwind," Kyra continued, writing it down, "And the last I heard of my parents, they were making a pilgrimage of sorts to Hyjal. My mother makes the best Ichor Soup this side of the Barrens."

Colin grimaced at the thought of such a meal, but he nodded anyway as Kyra returned his book to him, "Well, I'll certainly let her know you recommended it if I come across them."

Kyra nodded herself, smiling. Handing him the book, her hand remained extended, as if requesting a handshake, which Colin accepted. Her grip wasn't as firm as it had been when they'd first met, and, now, Colin was able to truly feel her hand, as he'd been too nervous the first time. It was a comforting feeling to have his hand held in hers.

"And remember to come across me when I finally leave here," she reminded, "I'll expect your furbolg wrestling skills to have increased."

Colin chuckled lightly before looking up the mound they had descended from, seeing Tyriel make her way down the steeping slope. Kyra excitedly made her way over to her, with Colin following behind her, noticing a sort of downtrodden expression on her face.

"Tyrie-" Kyra paused as her superior raised her hand to stop her.

"Okay, look," Tyriel sighed rubbing her face, "We're going to have to cut this short. I was hoping to make it the full week, but I suppose word travels faster when something like this happens."

Kyra watched Tyriel skeptically, but was surprised to Colin begin to pack whatever belongings he had outside of his rucksack, as though prepared for this.

"What's going on?" Kyra asked, shocked.

Tyriel sighed, "I didn't want to tell you much, since you're a very dedicated Sentinel, but bringing him here wasn't exactly…authorized. I had to sort of sneak him in, I suppose."

Kyra turned to Colin, who was now standing beside Tyriel, nodding. She turned back to Tyriel, who had returned to a neutral expression.

"I knew Colin from his attempts to visit, by the books, so when I had the idea to bring him in to help you, I knew he wouldn't have been accepted; he'd been rejected eighteen times, after all. I thought we'd be fine staying just a week, but word has gotten back to the Cenarion Circle that a human is here without permission, and I'm not about to get either of you in trouble."

Kyra looked back at Colin, who smiled sadly, "It was fun while it lasted. I'll come find you when you're out there, right?"

She didn't reply, only lowering her head as Tyriel reached over to pat her shoulder, "We need to leave immediately. I'll see you later, child. Come on, Colin."

Tyriel hurriedly ascended the hill, though Colin remained behind, lingering next to Kyra. She still didn't speak, caught between adhering to her duty, which Tyriel had circumnavigated, and this human who'd become a dear friend of hers. Colin remained behind for a moment, expecting her to say something, but she didn't.

"Goodbye," he spoke, quietly, before turning to follow Tyriel, who'd already left their sight.

As he left her sight as well, Kyra remained frozen there, trying to process all that had happened, unsure. She knew it was inevitable, even without this sour twist, but now that it had happened, she found that it truly did hurt. Much like her siblings, this friend was leaving her, as well, on this tree that was her home, but was also holding her back.


	6. Relieved of Duty

She shivered slightly as a cold air bit past her and she slowly trudged on home, sadly. She received a few greetings on her way, but she didn't reply to any of them, instead remaining in her own world. When she did get home, she was met with the table that had brought so much life to this building she called home. It would have to be returned.

Though, she noticed a book atop of it, which resembled Colin's sketchbook, though it clearly had a different colored cover. She hurried over to retrieve it, thinking first to run and return it, but she quickly noticed the note beside it, with scribbled words upon it.

Kyra,

You'll make the world your own. And when you do, you'll have this to remind you of home.

Colin

She peered at the note for the longest time, before slowly opening up the cover, revealing a beautifully sketched page of her home. Unlike everything she's seen him sketch, this picture actually had been colored, very clearly in the same colors of Teldrassil, hued a shade of pinkish-purple.

Kyra smiled as she flipped through, seeing Teronis tending to his sapling, two night elf children, perhaps the only two on the tree, running through the forest, a pair of furbolgs debating, or more likely, just staring at one another. His visit had been transcribed into this book, in pictures.

She came to the final page, pausing, her smile disappearing as her eyes widened. There stood herself, bathing in the moonwell, from the first morning of his trip. Her eyes followed the contoured inches of her body, seeing what Colin had seen and how much of it he'd remembered to transcribe, although her pose may have been a tad more seductive than she had remembered.

She stared at the picture for what seemed like forever, almost studying it, although she was truly studying the artist behind it.

Quickly, however, she shut it as she heard footsteps behind her, turning to see a superior of hero's stepping into her home, carefully. Kyra hastily turned to salute her, though the older woman waved her down.

"Remain calm," she ordered, "We know Tyriel was responsible for this, though we still need you to answer some questions. It's not as if a human being here is tragic, though the methods used are disconcerting."

Kyra nodded in understanding before her superior waved her along to follow behind her, which she did.

Kyra stood across the room from Sylvaya, simply remaining silent, though she was still nervous. Sylvaya always did this, probably to make her guests sweat a little, but Kyra simply used it as time to recollect her memories of the last few days. Sylvaya began writing onto a thin book, perhaps to keep notes, as she began speaking.

"So, we've already questioned Tyriel. She doesn't seem to believe she's done much wrong, and considering her status, I'm sure it will come to pass that she hasn't done anything wrong, at least in the eyes of the Priestesses. The human has already left and-"

"Colin," Kyra corrected, surprising ever herself.

Sylvaya lifted her head slightly, just to peer over toward Kyra with the slightest hint of upturned eyes, "Yes."

"…Colin has already left. I'd have detained him for questioning otherwise," Sylvaya spoke, scribbling feverishly across the pages of the notebook, "Who was he, exactly?"

Without thinking, Kyra began speaking, "A human, with a knack for artistry. He has deep, blue eyes and a charming smile. Short hair, and nicely broad shoulders. His hands are pleasantly cool to the touch, and when he laughs, he does this sort of halting laugh that's very…"

Sylvaya stared up at her again, barely lifting her head, though her eyes were piercing, "…I wasn't talking about his looks."

Despite the color of her skin, Kyra visibly blushed as she realized her faux pas, "Oh... Uh, yes. He's just an explorer. He studies other cultures."

Skeptically, Sylvaya returned to her eyes to the notebook, "And was he involved in the death of Dalvyn?"

"Absolutely not!" Kyra shouted, heatedly, surprising even herself, "He went with me when we found him, but he wouldn't dare do such a thing! He couldn't have!"

Her superior dropped her writing utensil and stood up, coolly, "And am I to believe that you're separating fact from emotion when it comes to that assessment?"

Understanding what was being implied, Kyra was taken back, "I-I wouldn't dream of jeopardizing everything I've accomplish, much less for a mortal human. Especially one who does not revere our Mother."

In her flagrant reply, Kyra quickly noticed that she may have spoken too much, as Sylvaya stared at her angrily, "You allowed someone here who insulted Elune? Upon the very crown that she has given us?"

Silently, Kyra lowered her head. She should have known not to have brought it up; Sylvaya was quite the devout follower of her goddess, which was why she had ascended the ranks quick enough. She was more heated than Kyra had ever seen before, but it immediately was cloaked behind a bow as Kyra noticed somebody entering the small enclave of a room. Tyrande.

"Kyra?" she asked, curiously, "What brings you here?"

Feeling at odds, she didn't reply, expecting her superior to do so for her, but as though to punish her, no such answering occurred, leaving Kyra alone to appear belligerent.

"Is this about the human who came to visit upon false circumstances?" Tyrande questioned, now looking to her lieutenant.

"Yes, Sister," Sylvaya replied, "Though you speak in such mild terms."

Tyrande walked over behind the desk where Sylvaya sat, turning to look at Kyra, "Sister… Kyra. Could it be that you unknowingly allowed this, simply so as to leave the Sentinels?"

Shocked, Kyra shouted, "Of course not! I've given my life to the Priestesses of Elune! If our mother and my sisters request it, I would remain here for-…"

She paused, which she found odd. She had the entire sentence on her tongue, but at the last second, it just vaporized. Tyrande smirked quietly, watching Kyra's head lower once again, joining her shaking shoulders.

Silently, Tyrande strode breathlessly over toward Kyra, wrapping her arms around her in a hug, "Go. I know that you've wanted it for so long, and despite whatever needs we may need from you, you deserve it."

Kyra's head shot upward to watch Tyrande's face, shocked, as the Head Priestess continued, "If you hurry, you may yet catch him."

"But…" Kyra muttered.

"Nuh uh," Tyrande sounded, interrupted her, "Elune has something special in mind for you, apart from your home. And also for that human, I know. So go, and make us proud."

Kyra's cheeks were now full of starlight as a grin reached across her face as she quickly returned the hug before rushing out from the small room, leaving the other two alone.

Sylvaya sat down, sighing, "You know she deserved some sort of reprehension."

Turning slowly, Tyrande shrugged, "Perhaps. But those two will do great things. Why impede it any more than it has already has been? Now, send for Tyriel and let her know. I know she was particularly fond of that girl."

Sylvaya groaned, but agreed nonetheless.

Colin leaned against the railing of the massive boat, staring out into the distance. He'd made it down to the docks of Rut'theran thanks to Tyriel, and now only awaited departure, or capture, perhaps. He lowered his head, thinking about Kyra, fondly, saddened that they had to be parted prematurely. He knew it wasn't meant to be anything else, but his heart still tugged at the thought.

The sailors behind him quickly prepared to shove off, their feet constantly thumping to and fro as they ran around, nonstop. Apparently there was a storm off the coast of Kalimdor and all hands were needed on deck. Colin figured that Tyriel simply ordered them not to wait in order to get him gone as fast as possible, and as such, he felt a bit guilty, knowing he'd be sent down into the hold once they got into the storm.

The boat began to leave the dock as Colin overheard the shouting of people in Darnassian, some of which seemed angry enough to be vulgar, and he lowered his head to see the rippling of the ocean water beneath him, his eyes squinting painfully.

"And were off…" he muttered to himself, as though needing to in order to truly realize that he was leaving.

As he began to straighten up, he heard the whining of a hippogryph, forcing him to look back toward land. Astounded, his eyes grew wide as he watched Kyra climbing onto the back of one, grappling at its reigns, and tugging mightily to get it to fly up. Colin was shocked to see her coming his way, toward the boat, and he quickly ran to the center of the deck to watch her as she struggled to control the beast, which seemed rather belligerent to begin with.

She came close enough to being above the boat when the hippogryph suddenly bucked her off, sending her flying toward the deck. Colin hurried ran across to the port, reading her trajectory, and he did manage to find her, though at her speed, she more so flew into him, knocking the wind out of him.

They flew back, sliding into the wall of the hold, Colin desperately trying to take a breath. Kyra quickly pulled away from him and examined him, ultimately resorting to simply holding his shoulder as if to console him.

"Sorry," she spoke, "Damn things never did like me much."

Colin continued gasping for air as he tried to talk, but it was unsuccessful, and he ultimately pointed at her and shrugged. Kyra grinned in reply.

"I'm coming with you."

Now, Colin's gasps became coughs as he held his torso in pain, "What?!"

Kyra's grin remained, "They don't want me out in the world. So, Tyrande relieved me of duty. I'm coming with you."

"But you've worked your whole life for-"

"To find my place in this world," she finished, "And if you've taught me anything, it's that it is not here. It's somewhere else in the world. I'll never find it if I don't go look."

Colin continued staring at her, still holding his stomach as he sat again the wooded paneling, long enough in silence for Kyra to continue, "Unless you don't want company. I can go it alone."

To this, Colin grinned, extending his hand, "I wouldn't dream of anything else, Ms. Shadowmoon."

She grinned at the unabashedly human speech and took his hand in a handshake before standing to help him to his feet. They stared at one another, as though they'd been apart for years, before the ringing voice of a man across the deck roused them.

"Well, if you wanted to pick up some Darnassian, this may not be the proper place," Kyra lowered her head, slightly blushing.

Colin grinned, walking toward the railing once again, Kyra falling along, "We're headed for Lor'danel, which you wanted to go to, right? I figure if you're joining me, we could backtrack somewhat from where I've been. It'd be nice to follow up on some of my acquaintances. They'll be shocked I picked up a Teldrassilian night elf on my adventure, for one."

Kyra smirked lightly, "That voice earlier mentioned something quite the opposite."

Colin turned to her, now his turn to blush, before hiding his face within the map he'd pulled out. Kyra leaned over the railing herself, watching the island home of hers disappear into the distance, the first time she'd seen it do so. She felt the smallest bit of loss, but suddenly felt some release, almost as though it was her time to go.

Colin turned and leaned his back against the railing, with Kyra quickly emulating him. Their eyes found one another, and they both led themselves into childlike grins. All they knew now was that adventure was sure to await them.

7


	7. Conflict Across the Strait

~~Entry #23~~

I've always been fascinated with the darkness, or at least, curious. I'm not sure why I'm not fearful or apprehensive about entering dark nooks or deep caverns. Perhaps I enjoy the darkness in the same way I enjoy the bustle of Stormwind: It allows me to hide myself, be it within the darkness or the crowds. I'm forever comforted by these things.

Though, I can say I've never been robbed in a crowd. nor have I encountered a feral beast in the darkness.

-Colin Dumerval

* * *

Colin closed his book as the waves grew choppier, slowly lowering the leather-bound collection of pages on a nearby table. He looked over toward Kyra, who was sleeping soundly for somebody who's never been on the high dead before. He stood up and walked to the entryway, peeking out onto the deck, watching the pouring rain bouncing around the wooden planks.

Looking around further, his eyes met with a sailor's, a younger-looking night elf who must have been on lookout duty. Colin raised a hand in greeting, though the lookout simply peered off into the distance, signaling to Colin that he should return to the humid cabin.

Kyra had chosen to sleep on a bed attached to the furthest wall, but there were still two others sitting at a table, speaking quietly. Colin had surmised that the two were married, having met while on duty on this very ship. It seemed to be their life's duty to remain apart of the crew, however, so the two simply remained.

"Ishnu alla," the woman spoke to Colin as he returned to his chair.

He turned to see a smiling face upon her, though her husband had a face that could only be described as a scowl, "Ishnu alla."

Although it was one thing of very few that he could actually speak, the woman began speaking to Colin in a light Darnassian accent, though it ended soon enough with her eyes widening in shock.

"Oh my, I apologize," she muttered, "I just assumed you were familiar with the language; I'm quite sorry."

Colin chuckled, picking up his tome, "Don't worry about it. I'm not sure what else you could have taken from it, given we're between Telsrassil and Darkshore."

She waved him over and Colin obliged, pulling out a chair and joining the two, "I should be the one apologizing. I saw your cheek and just had something of a flashback of home. Perhaps nostalgia."

Colin didn't reply or motion in any way, though he now knew that his cheek was still bright from whatever trace of moonlight had, apparently, been placed upon him. He had checking in a mirror aboard the ship, but couldn't see anything, himself, that was anything out of the ordinary.

"Take some water from the ocean; that should get it off," the man spoke, as though reading Colin's silence as a negative reaction.

"Sarith!" her partner spoke up, as if offended, though he only shrugged.

"I'm sure the poor boy is tired of the stares by now. It's not upon the bruise where their gaze is laying, you know."

Colin sunk slightly into his seat with a sigh, which seemed to get the point across to his visitors, "Where are you headed?"

"Lor'danel, for now. My work actually takes me all over, but Kyra, there, was hoping to see the elven towns, if possible. I figured it would be a nice chance to catch up, myself."

The woman nodded, "Kyra Shadowmoon? I cannot speak for those farther away, but she has become something of a legend upon Teldrassil. May I ask why she's left her post?"

Not knowing whether or not Kyra was wanting this information exposed, Colin held back his tongue until her partner took his turn to speak up," It is not his place to discuss Elven politics, Ney'ira."

While she reproached him, Colin only released a sigh of relief at the unintentional save. The three made a bit more conversation, though mostly about life on the scooner they were on. The two had met hundreds of years earlier on this very ship. Sarith was older, and was born into a family of sailors, just so happening to come up through the ranks as the Cataclysim hit, requiring more aid back home in terms of sailing from back and forth.

Ney'ira, on the other hand, had been born in the Eastern Kingdoms and had made a pilgrimage of sorts back to Teldrassil. She had met Sarith on the way across the strait, and it was there upon the boughs that she had heard of Kyra. On the way back, however, Sarith seemed to have won her heart with a soliloquy or two, though some alcohol may had helped.

"I can't speak for everyone, again," Ney'ira sontinued with a hint of a smile, "But I love the life of a sailor. I meet many exciting people, though this is the first time in a long time I've come across a human. Much less a human with the mark of Elune."

Colin lowered his head, and even though her voice carried little inflection, he could tell that she was rather filled with a sort of excitement. Sarith reached over to another table and grabbed a towel, wrapping it tightly around his forearm.

"Time to clean the crossbeam, by the way," he spoke, unwavering.

Ney'ira sighed, clearly wanting to talk more, but she reluctantly grabbed the towel handed to her, "Well, it's not all good."

The two began to leave, but Ney'ira quickly turned around as she made it to the door, "Oh, will you be traveling to the Eastern Kingdoms at any point?"

Colin nodded.

"My parents live down south, near the Swamp of Sorrows. Tell them I said hi if you end up down there!"

With a nod, Colin replied, "It won't pass me by."

And so Ney'ira run out of the cabin, leaving the two alone. Colin remained at the table, whipping his hand around as he noticed it reaching up to his cheek once again. He stood up and turned toward where Kyra was sleeping, noticing just how different she looked without the moon shooting from her eyes. He quickly noticed his impoliteness and slowly made his own way out of the cabin.

Making his way to the railing, he leaned over and stared off into the vastness of the sea, amidst the jolting shouts from above him. The moon was peeking out from beside the gigantic tree that shot up from the ocean. He looked down at the soft waters, tracing the line of the waves as they passed over its reflection. In this revelry, he failed to notice Kyra approaching him, leaning over the railing herself.

"I haven't woken up outside of my duty in, oh…four hundred years," she spoke softly as Colin quickly peered up toward her.

She sighed, "And, yes, I do realize how old that makes me sound to somebody like you."

Grinning, Colin replied, "We humans have a saying; you're only as old as you feel."

"Well I feel two hundred and sixty," Kyra spoke, rather joyously as she stood up and stretched her arms up, "I haven't felt so…free in so long. I can't wait to get out of this mailed armour. I know Auberdine was famous for its linens; hopefully that tradition has carried over to Lor'danel."

Colin smiled as he heard her excited speech, which he hadn't heard too often. Just the other day, she was the hardened soldier whose emotions were as plated as her armor. He had found glimpses into her depths, but never to see her in this happiness.

"If anything, you can get something as a carryover until we get to Astranaar," he spoke up, turning back to the sea.

She looked over to him, "You seem tired. Do you need a turn to sleep?"

"Yeah, I guess," he spoke, standing up himself, though as he turned, he noticed Kyra staring down at the sketchbook he had left him.

Suddenly, a rush of guilt and embarrassment fell over him, totally expecting never to see it again, much less alongside the woman he had left it with. He thought, for sure, that she had noticed his sudden pause, though she only continued staring at the thick paper of the book.

"It's amazing how I already miss home and it's only been a few hours," she spoke lightly, staring deeply into the colorful pages, "I mean, I have no intention of turning back, but still."

Colin nodded slowly, peering up into space, "I think I was feeling homesick even a month or so after I left home. Granted, I wasn't exactly offered much in the way of comforts, but still, it was all I had known. If you stick with it, you'll appreciate it more, especially when we start seeing some of your elven outposts down south."

Now more excited, Kyra grinned, "Exactly. I can't wait."

The two returned to quiet, each of them staring off into distant worlds. It was Colin who first spoke as he shoved his hands into a pair of pockets, ready to get some sleep himself. He paused, however, noticing the page on which Kyra was now staring at, and he began to blush as he, now quietly, began to slink off.

"Did you –" she halted upon realizing her companion had left.

She couldn't understand why she had been so captivated by the picture that had consumed her entire mind whenever she peered at it. She hadn't seen herself in mirrors much, though that wasn't exactly intentional, and she chalked it up to just the idea of not realizing how her body looked. She remembered how odd her voice was when she'd heard it magically repeated during a debriefing one time.

On the other hand, she was intrigued by the eyes which had seemingly memorized that scene. She felt a twinge of flattery, but mostly wanted to know and understand what it was about the whole thing that was so memorable; enough to be drawn with such detail. Despite not exactly having an eye for artwork, she still found something within her for this paper she looked upon; it wasn't merely lines and colors, but the eyes of another, staring upon her.

* * *

Colin jolted awake at the sound of an explosion above him on deck. He nearly fell off of the bunk, but managed to recover himself before quickly getting to his feet. He knew it couldn't have been a cannon, as this ship was, for the most part, just a schooner, and he had heard similar sounds enough to know it was more likely to be magical in nature.

Hurriedly, he made his way onto the deck, first noticing Sarith on the ground, nursing his forearm as Ney'ira held out a glowing hand to it. Kyra was standing beside them, staring off at another ship that seemed to be aimed toward them.

"Naga," she spoke, emotionless, "We must have drifted too far north."

Sarith seethed as he surrendered his arm to his wife's care, "I tried sending off a warning shot, but it seems to have backfired."

He grimaced as he turned away from the human traveler, almost embarrassed, "We haven't exactly had much time to perfect such things."

Colin made his way over toward Kyra, whose hand was held upon the hilt of her sword, although it was still sheathed, her voice escaping with a fire to it, "They'll have a much different destination if they're thinking of attempting to board us."

Sure enough, while the opposing ship had stopped its approach, a squadron of naga jumped from its decks and into the sea, quickly approaching the elven ship. Ney'ira turned to see what was happening just as Kyra drew her sword, waving the others back toward the interior of the ship.

"I'll hold them off!" she spoke confidently, though Colin was sure he'd heard a certain thread of worry in her voice.

While the couple seemed to be figuring how to navigate following her order, Colin walked up to her, holding his hand against her sword, "Hold on, I don't think we'll need this."

Kyra turned to him, confused, before Colin hopped up onto the railing, sitting down and waving at the naga, who were now close enough to pause their swimming.

"Hello!" he shouted, "How may I help you?"

The serpents peered up at him, rather confused by such a cordial introduction, though they quickly returned to trying to make their way up onto the ship.

Colin frowned, "Full disclosure; we're transporting artifacts to the mainland. It's rather important; I believe most of it was excavated from the Tidehunter's domain itself. Very important we get it to shore."

As soon as the name "Tidehunter" had been muttered, the naga quickly stopped and stared up at Colin, who was innocently holding himself up on the railing, slowly dangling his legs back and forth.

"I mean, if you're just curious about what's on here, I could show you if you'd like."

Colin began to spin around as thought to rise to his feet, however, as quickly as they had come, the naga made a furious dash back toward their ship, leaving Colin with a quick grin as he turned to watch them. Kyra could only look on in surprise, though Colin had already given her a nod.

"Everybody's afraid of something. You just need to figure out what ten of them would be afraid of. and pray that you don't run into something that will advance regardless."

With that, Colin hurried off to explain the situation to the others, leaving Kyra to stare down at her hand, still clasping her sword. She knew, very well, that she hadn't grasped it because she had been confident. but because she'd been scared.

* * *

The schooner advanced toward the mainland, now only a few hours away. Colin had taken to the bow of the ship with a sketchbook, doing his best to replicate the elven ship in all its detail despite the rocking of the boat. Sarith had taken to practicing his pyromancy, probably in response to the earlier debacle, and Colin did his best to incorporate him into the sketch. The more intimate moments of his sketches were usually reserved for his eyes alone.

He immediately noticed Kyra when she had emerged, though she hadn't looked in his direction. Her sword had been removed from her person, as had most of her armor, leaving her body to appear much more rounded, like a poem that rolls of the tongue. Colin quickly returned his attention to his drawing, but couldn't help the occasional glance, and once he'd finally continued drawing, he found himself including her as well.

While Sarith had taken a few quick strokes of his pencil, Kyra's form required so much more of an eye for detail, though it may have only been an excuse to study her shape further. She peered off into the distance, seemingly in thought, probably reflecting on her journey this far, and Colin was rather determined to capture her in graphite.

As quickly as Kyra had appeared, Ney'ira exited the cabin as well, stepping toward Sarith and examining his movements. He became visibly more unsteady in the presence of his wife, and he nervously attempted to maintain some sense of composure, but it was for naught, as he lost his concentration, stumbling toward the deck, frantically trying to avoid being hit by whatever magic he had been wielding in his hands. His wife released a soft laugh as she bent down to tend to him, once again; a scene that even forced a grin onto Kyra's face.

In turn, Colin looked back at his notepad, smiling to himself as he recounted this crew onto paper, quietly noticing that he had left his sketch of Kyra incomplete, to be completed later with more detail than he was affording the others.

"He started learning pyromancy a few years ago," Ney'ira explained as Kyra approached the two to check on him, "Just in case we needed protecting on the high seas."

"Assuredly, the next generation will be better at it. We're much too old to be learning this near-forbidden craft," Sarith grimaced as he took to his feet.

Ney'ira smiled, "That won't stop him from protecting his wife though."

Sarith blushed, at least as much as a night elf could, and turned away as though pretending to ignore her, practicing various exercises on his hands and fingers, leaving Ney'ira to pull out her sea chart.

"Give it another, oh, hour or so. We'll be in Lor'danel faster than you know it."

Kyra nodded politely as Colin approached the two from behind, "Great. Thank you very much for your help."

"Not a problem," Ney'ira confirmed, "We're happy to help. Other than that naga adventure, anyway, but I highly doubt that can be avoided on some occasion. Something tells me you two may run into more events like that."

Colin peered at her as she grinned, "At least, it's evidenced by your cheek there. Elune must have something special planned for you two."

While Colin shifted into himself, Kyra stood proudly at her words, though it was less of a prophecy; her very mantra she woke up to included a similar phrase.

Ney'ira walked off toward her husband, leaving the two passengers standing there. The earlier comment had left Colin in a bad mood, so he began to trudge off, hoping to avoid any conversation from Kyra. While she did watch him go, she knew the whole topic was one he preferred not to discuss at any length.

As the sun began to fall into the horizon, Kyra leaned against the railing of the ship, much the same way she had when her journey had begun. You could now see the vague outline of Kalimdor, which she studied even this far out at sea, occasionally peering over her shoulder to view Teldrassil's majesty, even this far away.

Even hearing footsteps behind her, she continued staring onward, noticing Colin there only after he'd leaned over himself.

"You washed it off," she spoke, neutrally.

Colin sighed, only giving a nod, as his words would have most definitely offended her. She didn't continue with her lime of questioning, which told him that she was simply acknowledging what he had done and, possibly, letting him know that she wouldn't go on. Instead, she continued staring off into the distance, an action that she realized she'd been doing a lot of.

"I slept through dawn," she muttered, low, as if to herself, "The sunset is something else. I've only ever seen purples and blue; never orange, at least not like this."

Colin had already surmised that he'd be learning to appreciate things all over again that he'd known well, but he hadn't expected it this early. He joined her stare toward the dusky horizon, peeking through narrowed eyes.

"It certainly is something else compared to what you're used to. From what I've gathered, more than anything, it's the cyclical movements of the sun and moon that truly define a night elf on the mainland from one of Teldrassil. Then it's the phases of the moon. I know of some druids who meditate or hibernate completely in between specific phases; I'd imagine that'd be difficult back there where you cant see the moon."

"It certainly is comforting," Kyra spoke, nostalgically, "Not knowing any different, so you just assume the moon is always there. That's just childish, though."

"Childish or not, there's still something to that," Colin admitted.


	8. Lor'danel

The two managed to stay there to watch the sun fall behind the horizon, just beating the calls from Sarith that the two needed to prepare for landfall. Kyra was awestruck by the tiny settlement that awaited her, more so in its adventurous nature than anything. The evacuation of Auberdine was still its main purpose, but most all of the refugees had been accounted for, and it mainly served as a staging area for sentinel squadrons attempting to reclaim their, for most of them, previous home.

As their ship came into the dock, Kyra quickly strode into the small village, trying to find the main military contingent, leaving Colin alone to thank their hosts. Sarith was too busy to be bothered, but Ney'ira happily accepted his thanks.

"If you ever need another unsanctioned trip to or from Teldrassil, just give us a shout," she proclaimed, a bit more happily than Colin would have thought.

"Oh, uh, of course!" Colin agreed with a laugh, "Give Sarith our best, and…"

He pulled out a time he had in his backpack and handed it to the confused elf, "Give this to him for me. I'm not sure how much oversight there is in regards to magic, but if he keeps this thing hidden, it'll help him out with the beginner stuff, and a bit more."

Ney'ira happily accepted the gift with a smile, "Thank you very much; I'm sure he'll shrug it off before I find him reading it by the light of a candle."

"I'd expect nothing less," Colin smirked as he stepped off onto the dock, "We'll see you two soon!"

She bowed and quickly made her way over to help her husband prepare for departure, as they weren't at all expected to leave the Tree. Colin watched them disappear into the ship and turned to get another sight of Lor'danel. This had been the last place he'd stayed before he'd passed the strait and met his new companion, but by then, he was knee-deep in whatever it was Tyriel wanted, so he hadn't much time to explore, not that there was much of that to do here anyway.

Unaware of wherever Kyra had gone to, he simply walked among the few buildings and stalls of vendors, taking query of what all was being sold. He stumbled upon a tiny hovel of a wooden setup meant for selling wares, but didn't see anybody there to man it. He quietly walked around the partition that served as a wall and peeked around behind it, eyeing a dwarf there, battering a silverine sword between a hammer and anvil.

"Howdy, Ovuun," Colin spoke up, a bit loudly to compete with the clanging of metal.

The dwarf lifted his head rapidly, staring at Colin for only a second before throwing his hammer and the sword up into the air, "Colin! Where the hell have ya been! Don't tell me ya made it ova' there!"

Colin grinned, which was all the confirmation the heavily bearded man needed, "Whoa! How'd you-"

With a quick swipe of his hand, Colin hushed the man as he peered back over his shoulder, "It wasn't exactly official; like I told you."

He walked over to the dwarf's anvil, grinning, "It was gorgeous; as soon as you get the chance, you need to see it Ovuun. Every day feels like a dream!"

The dwarf laughed after collecting the tools he'd thrown, "Ships aren't my kind of thing, lad. And them hippagryphs are a whole 'nother evil. I'll leave the explorin' to ya."

He returned to whacking his hammer against the sword, peeking up toward Colin, who was still looking dreamy, "Turns out my hunch was right; soon as I got 'ere, they took me in and put me to work. After we split up, I figured I'd find you here once I'd gotten 'ere, but you'd disappeared! I figured either death by mauling or Teldrass'l."

"Not only that," Colin nearly whispered, "A companion."

"Oh shush," the older man spattered, stopping his work, "They don't ever leave that 'un tree."

Colin grinned, grabbing Ovuun's arm and pulling him out of the stall, much to the dwarf's chagrin. He peered around, but realized, again, that he wasn't sure where Kyra had gone.

"Where's the general here?"

Ovuun shrugged, "They just sent me ov'r 'ere and said "Git to it!" so I did."

Colin took another look, but felt a sudden tug from his hand and a loud yelp from Ovuun behind him. He quickly turned and found Ovuun on the ground, holding his head as Kyra stood above him, she clutching her chestplate.

"You gave me a fright!" she spoke up, winded.

Ovuun rudely shot back, "You thought to sneak up on a son of Anvilmar?! What'd you expect?! I coulda offed ya head!"

"You couldn't shoot a mountain goat, Ovuun," Colin muttered, making sure Kyra was okay, "My apologies."

Kyra shook her head, "No, I should have surmised. I know that dwarves tend to lend toward overreaction."

"Hey lass, you watch yer words; I gotta mallet and I'm nawt 'fraid to use it!"

Colin groaned, holding Kyra's forearm as though to prevent her from going on, "Now hold on you two. Ovuun, this is Kyra; Kyra, Ovuun."

The dwarf eyed her suspiciously, "If I'm assumin' this is who you picked up, I oughtta question yer social skills. Seein' as how ya befriended me, however…"

Kyra looked down at him pithily, but remained silent outside of a quick, "How do you do."

Colin began as he followed Ovuun back into his hut, "Ovuun and I met down south as I made my way up here. He was on his way too; I believe he said he was "huntin' for tha almi'hty coin" and decided to offer his services to the relief movement here."

The old dwarf grinned at the recounting, "Well, I cant help but help after a tragedy."

Kyra turned to Colin with a vague look on her face that he couldn't quite decipher, though she whispered to him, "They said he was a volunteer…"

Colin returned her stare, but his face had a noticeable layer of dread, "Look, Ovuun, you're doing a good job here; perhaps you could do it all for the love of living things."

"Don't stick yer feet in a pint, lad!" Ovuun shouted out, gleefully, "I have a family to feed back in Menethil! My boy, Gormin, is expecting some draenei stones to stick in 'is beard; the boy's only five!"

Colin groaned, rubbing his head, "Look, Ovuun, good friend… You need to know something…"

* * *

Ovuun crashed through the door of his stall, his hands chock full of everything he managed to carry along with him, with Colin quickly in tow. He stomped off, leaving a trail of confused faces behind him, and Colin courteously left apologies in the angry man's wake. Much too far gone, Ovuun hardly bothered with the various equipment that fell from his arms, but one thing that Colin was careful to gather was a small pocket watch, adorned with a rusted chain.

"Ovuun, calm down," he pleaded as he caught up with the short man's strides, "Look, maybe we can explain the misunderstanding and see if they're willing to work out something with you. Did you see that weapon rack? They need you here!"

The dwarf scoffed, "I didn't come all this way for negotiations! I'll find another place where my services 're more valued! I didn't spend years pluckin' cinders from my skin for nothin'!"

The two were now a healthy distance out of town, leaving Colin desperate for any reason to stop the man's advance. He felt the watch in his hand, quickly hunting for something to quell the man's anger.

"How about just doing it for me?" he asked, nearly pleading, "A friend to a friend."

Slowly enough, the dwarf came to a stop, sighing heavily as he stared at the ground. Colin slowly approached him, stopping at his side, happy he'd gotten this far. Ovuun looked up at him with a sarcastic tone.

"You're seriously resortin' to that?"

"Yes," Colin spoke flatly, holding out Ovuun's watch to him, "This makes it twice I've found this for you. I'm still counting it as one favor since I didn't have to out-duel a tallstrider to get it this time."

Ovuun chuckled, "And ya know that if I do this, there's no way of ya gettin' ta Old Ironforge, ey?"

"I'll just figure out another way; some other favors," Colin sighed, "I know there's stories of some spirit world that you can pass onto in order to get in; maybe there's some merit to that. In any case, I know it'd mean a lot to Kyra if you stayed and helped."

The dwarf eyed Colin deftly, twirling a bit of his beard between two fingers, "Eh, ya get somethin' of a look for this lass?"

Colin scoffed, "Of course not; we're just friends. Just give them a hand, alright? She mentioned something of a group attempting to reclaim Auberdine; just until that's over."

Shrugging mightly, Ovuun pulled his armfulls of equipment closer to his body, "Welp, I hate owin' debts. Let's get this over with."

"Thanks," Colin grinned, "Besides, it'd be good for you and everyb-"

As soon as the two began walking back, they both felt a sudden force approach them and clasp hands over each of their mouths, pulling them into the shadows of a nearby tree. Colin was quick enough to realize that this force was Kyra, but Ovuun furiously threw his appendages around in a flurry, losing everything he was carrying.

"Hush, fool!" Kyra shot out in a grave voice that quelled even Ovuun's anger.

He quickly froze, the three staying put for a few moments before footsteps began to approach; heavy steps like thunder. Colin watched carefully, making sure that Ovuun didn't shout out, as his eyes were wide as shields once they met the threat.

A moonkin stomped around nearby, searching for something that Colin guessed was the two of them, due to their speaking. He knew little about these creatures, though he was aware that they were not friendly. Given Kyra's reaction, he surmised that they were certainly not to be trifled with.

The moonkin made some very audible sniffles, spun around, and began trudging along back where it'd come from, much to the relief of Colin. Kyra removed her hands from their mouths and Ovuun quickly jumped up to his feet, angrily swinging around a branch he'd grasped in the act.

"What'd I tell ya about Anvilmar boys?!" he shouted, moving slowly to recover his equipment as though afraid of the moon in returning, despite his shouts.

Kyra took to her feet as well and stared at the man with the plain face that had become sort of a trademark of her people, though Ovuun spoke up first, "…but, thank ye, lass."

"He hates anything with hair growing out of every pore," Colin chuckled as he grabbed at some dwarven wrench.

"I most certainly do NOT!" Ovuun shouted, aiming his stick at Colin, "They're just not at all my favorite things. My uncle looked more like a tree than anythin' with that beard o' his; made for quite a fright for me when I was just a wee lad."

While he and Colin continued collecting the various metal and steel objects, Kyra carefully surveyed their surroundings before joining in herself, "So, you're leaving?"

Colin stared over toward Ovuun, who lowered his head, noticeably heaving his shoulders with a sigh, "Nah. We were just headin' back. Your pal, there, made sure of that."

"Thank you," Kyra spoke, surely, with a smile, "Sylviis had nothing but good things to say about "her helpful little dwarf"."

Ovuun glumly stared at the ground, torn between compliment and offense.


	9. The Totem

By now, night had fallen, Kyra's first night outside if Teldrassil, and Colin carefully collected his equipment, laying it out on the bed that had been procured by him upon arrival. A tent had been set up for travelers, which is where he'd went, while Kyra had taken up in the tent that served more as a barracks. He took stock of everything he had, including quills and art supplies, and cleaned and organized what he could.

He stood and stared down at the bed, this ritual becoming enough of a routine that he'd even lay down objects in a particular way before taking account of them. As soon as that was dome, he packed everything back up, laying his pack underneath the cot, careful not to wake any of the other tenants. Ovuun did a good enough job snoring, however, to mask any noise, so Colin didn't bother moving all that quietly.

As he stood up, he had adjusted his position enough that the moon met his eyes through the small opening of the tent's entryway. The cloth had fluttered in the wind, but now sat still, almost creepily so. Colin stared into the white orb, becoming more conscious of his cheek all of a sudden, though he quickly ignored it. As if having a sort of stand-off he continued staring at the moon.

Within the light of one moon came another. He suddenly noticed Kyra walking along the pavilion, alongside another woman, whose armor appeared to be of much higher rank. Colin slowly approached the woven sheets of the entrance and attempted to listen in, but didn't get far.

Whether it had been due to his ears simply not being good enough, or rather because he had been staring at her starlit hair cascading over her shoulders, he couldn't be sure, though he suddenly heard a jolting house behind him, forcing whip around to see Ovuun uncomfortably turning in his cot.

"Yes, Modimus; I accept the crown on behalf of-" he trailed off.

Colin sighed as he returned to his previous stance, but was only greeted by metal and chain mail before falling backwards, smashing hard into the ground. As his faculties returned, he quickly noticed Kyra kneeling beside him, examining his face.

"Are you okay?" she spoke quietly, and rather neutrally, though Colin could sense a concern in her voice, "Sorry; I didn't notice you there."

Colin shook his head, gently pushing her hand away, which had been moving vaguely toward his cheek, "No, no; it was my fault. I shouldn't have been standing there."

He already knew that she had known enough to guess what he'd been doing, so he did t offer any explanation as he rose to his feet as she helped him up.

"Sylviis has decided," Kyra began, her face returning to its once stony appearance, "Tomorrow we'll be heading toward Auberdine. The reconnicence team came back with favorable news, and she figures that having me there can only aid the cause."

Colin rubbed his nose gingerly, alleviating its pain from earlier, "Well, they've got the best Sentinel on Telsrassil at their side. No point in wasting that."

He turned away to look for something, missing Kyra's light smile as he dug through his backpack, emerging again with a wooden necklace. It was detailed, though not exactly ornate; it appeared to be a shamanic totem in the shape of a fox when Kyra first noticed it.

"If you're going into combat, I suppose you need some protection," Colin spoke as he handed it to her, "Crafted by the finest Tauren shamans of Mulgore. I was told it was for protection, though I suppose a tauren would require elusivity more than anything."

He chuckled to himself as Kyra accepted the necklace, peering at it through her bright eyes, "I'm familiar enough with tauren druids to know about how powerful these sort of things can be."

The two shared knowing grins, particularly because Kyra had the impression that he had just put it away; after all, it wasn't around his neck. Colin shrugged off her suggestion as she turned around, offering the necklace back to him, lifting her hair with her other hand.

He could only stare for a moment, confused, though was quick enough to recover so that nothing was said. He took the leather strap that had been woven into the intricate canals that were carved into the totem and wrapped it loosely around Kyra's neck, peeking over her shoulder to make sure it wasn't too high up. Her skin was bathed in a pale blue moonlight, nearly sparking along its soft edges, nearly causing Colin to drop the necklace altogether. He quickly adjusted the length of the strap and stepped back, more relaxed as Kyra adjusted the necklace.

"Thank you," she spoke in a whisper, almost appearing to be quite shaken in fact.

Worried, Colin responded, "Are you alright?"

Kyra returned her arms to the sides of her body as she stared down at the ground, embarrassed, "You were so close, I… I felt her nervous you were."

Now also embarrassed, although a lot more severely, Colin turned away and held his arm as Kyra went on, quietly, "Your heart sped up, your arms quivered, you were devoid of breath. It was a bit unnerving."

Kyra raised her eyes and watched Colin, who was still turned in embarrassment as he spoke up, "S-Sorry. for making you uncomfortable."

"Not uncomfortable," she confirmed, "Just… I've never felt anybody react like that to me. It wasn't uncomfort; it was surprise, shock, confusion, and…"

She trailed off before continuing on with a question, "Are you…attracted to me?"

Colin became even more visibly red as she asked, probably answering the question simply enough with that, though Kyra remained quiet as if awaiting an answer.

"I'd figure anybody would react that way…around you, anyway."

While Colin was simply seeking a way of explaining himself, Kyra took on a mighty shade of red as she, again, tried to hide her face with her hand. She hadn't ever received such a compliment before. Her parents weren't exactly the types to demonstrate affections, and her siblings had already run off. Now here was a man, a human, no less, visibly quaking at the prospect of being too close to her.

"Sorry," Colin finally spoke, piercing the silence, "Can we just let this go?"

Having composed herself, Kyra had removed her hand and she stared into Colin's face, offering her hand to him, "Let me show you something."

Apprehensive, Colin slowly clutched her hand and felt a immediate, yet gentle, tug as she led the two from the tent. They didn't get far before she stopped in the middle of the pavilion, turning as she pulled Colin closer to her.

She looked up at the sky, which had darkened behind the bright moonlight. Colin did the same, though he couldn't help but raise his head only so high, keeping the ability to watch Kyra's face.

"The moon isn't quite full," she spoke, "Perhaps in the next day or two. We used to face our enemies only between nights of the full moon, but that died out. With all that's changed, though, some have returned to the lore of old, hence Sylviia's insistence to fight tomorrow."

She smiled the slightest bit, "We had another tradition, "D'ana'no diel Ishura T'as'e" which also fell from tradition after Nordrassil's fate cast a shadow over our hearts."

Colin stared at her, quite confused that she had paused. She only continued to stare up into the heavens, seeming more ethereal than anything else, as though she were among them. Her Darnassian words hung in his ear like a mantra, repeating again and again.

"What does it mean?" he asked, innocently enough.

And in that instant, Kyra's eyes met with his; those beams of starlight reaching into his eyes as if he were staring out into the cosmos. That light intensified, and then nothing. The light vanished completely, leaving Colin blind, lost, until upon his lips he felt hers, rescuing him from his reeling eyes, although that was a moot point by now.

While Kyra's eyes had shut, Colin's lingered wide open in shock at what had just happened. A great burst of flame had been lit within his lips and now showered his mind and soul in wildfire.

While it had only taken a few moments, it seemed to be an hour to Colin. As soon as it had happened, Kyra pulled away, her eyes now squinted as though in reverie.

"Not even the vastness between the stars could keep us from meeting again," she translated, softly, "Roughly."

While he understood her words, Colin was still very much in utter surprise, simply able to just stand there. Kyra quickly reached over and hugged him, which even Colin was able to recognize quickly enough to reciprocate in kind.

"No matter what happens, we'll meet again," she spoke, as neutrally as always.

Colin quickly realized just how foreign of a place she'd been. They had met just a week or so ago, yet he was the only person she knew for miles. The tight grip from her arms to tell that story well enough, anyway.

She pulled away slowly, looking confused as she looked at his face, "What's wrong?"

Colin psychologically came to, suddenly jumping back into whatever reality he was now experiencing, "Oh, uh, nothing. It was just surprising is all."

Kyra stared, but eventually a tiny grin crept onto her face, "You were very sweet."

"Oh," Colin sighed, as though relieved that her kiss wasn't due to anything more serious, "Just making sure."

Now visibly smiling, Kyra grabbed at her necklace, "Thank you, again. I'll see you tomorrow, maybe; or later if we don't meet before Sylviia has us move on out. Whatever we're facing, I'll be sure to find out how to brighten ten of them."

She turned and began walking off toward her tent before Colin could figure out what she'd just referred to. Now unable to reply without shouting, he only returned to his own tent, silently pulling back the curtains and sitting at his cot. He pulled out his journal and opened up to the latest page, upon which he'd counted inventory earlier. There were objects he didn't have, though still wrote down and crossed out, followed by such things as "Loaned to M-" or "Given to D-; expected to return".

Underneath the list, he carefully continued writing:

"Shamanic Ardency Totem – entrusted to Kyra"


	10. Twilight Over Darkshore

Colin leaned against the side of the stable, hands in his pockets, staring out at the night elves in the pavilion, putting on a military demonstration before leaving. They were all lower-level Sentinels, and as such, Kyra wasn't among them. From what all he'd seen, Colin surmised that, surprisingly, Kyra was held in rather high regard, despite only serving upon the branches of Teldrassil.

Ovuun quickly rushed out from behind the stable, adjusting his clothing as he cleared his throat, "Thanks fer keepin' an eye out, lad."

Colin nodded, "No problem."

"You okay?" Ovuun asked plainly, "You've been actin' all strange all day. I'm beginnin' to think I need to be concerned; now that's a large order for a dwarf, ya know!"

Colin grinned as he stood up straight, shaking his head, "No, no; it's okay. I appreciate the, uh, though, though."

Ovuun loosened his shirt from where it was fucked in, carefully, "This wouldn't have anythin' to do with last night, eh?"

Shooting a stare that might have pinned him to the wall, Colin spoke out forcefully at Ovuun, "What did you see?!"

The dwarf burst out a quick laugh, "Didn't think yer buddy'd see, didja? I caught that smootch she laid on ya! She may not know how to treat a dwarf, but she certainly treats you humans well!"

Colin sighed heavily, rubbing his face, "It was nothing like that; just a platonic, friendly kiss. They don't feel, you know…"lust" like others do."

Ovuun began to chuckle again, so Colin prepared some verbal artillery, "You know; the larger you are, the slower you live is all. Not everyone can be as small as-"

With a quickness usually reserved for nightsabers, Ovuun ended his jovial laugh and cast an angry glance at Colin, who only began laughing himself, the topic having been successfully avoided.

"You can upset me all ya want, you're still helping me out today," the dwarf snorted as he picked up his backpack, "If you want me to help here, you're gonna help me help 'em."

Colin nodded, "Fair enough."

"Now, we need ta go out and find some silverbark. Not much, which is great, since Darkshore'll have very little, I'm sure; but enough to reinforce my anvil and hammer. I requested some help, but with this little thing they have goin' on, they couldn't spare no one, so we're on our own against any fauna."

Ovuun became visible pale as he finished, but remained resolute in any case. Colin nodded as he pulled up a rope that had been attached to various animal traps, throwing it around his shoulder as Ovuun began his way toward to entrance to Lor'danel.

"We'll be in 'n out in no time at all," Ovuun confirmed, "For my name ain't Anvilmar!"

* * *

Kyra walked rather quickly around the settlement, looking around every nook and cranny she could fine, making sure to not miss her companion. While her activity wasn't frantic, she still received some looks, especially when she went looking for Colin in a collection of barrels which housed nightsaber feed.

"Shadowmoon!" a highranking Sentinel shouted from behind her.

In a split second, Kyra spun around, "Yes, Sylvia!"

Sylviia stared at her a moment before speaking normally, "What on earth are you doing?"

Kyra lowered her head slightly, "My companion sees to have wandered off. I had hoped to have seen him before we went off."

The general nodded only slightly before continuing, "Ah, yes. The human. You two caused a lot of trouble across the strait."

Kyra cringed for a second as her superior went on, "Don't let it get to you. From what I've seen from you, I'd have been the first to request your transfer. Just keep a level head. We know the Twilight's Hammer are stationed there in few numbers, but we're not about to underestimate them. Your human will have to wait."

Kyra nodded, sighing to herself, as she followed Sylviia back outside Lor'danel, "My apologies."

"Nonsense," Sylviia chirped in a motherly tone, "Just keeping you in the moment. If you perform well, here, I may just have to have you stationed here. Rebuilding our home will need strong elves with even stronger resolution."

Kyra's ears pulled back as she heard her words, "Are you serious?"

For the first time, Sylviia smirked, "I'm always serious."

Kyra stared ahead in shock as the two approached the barracks. In front of her was her chance to finally claim a place in the world of her home.

* * *

Ovuun lightly tapped the tree that he'd chosen to be surveyed, silently listening with his ear against the back as he knocked below it with his knuckles. Colin stared at him, unimpressed, and even more so once the dwarf pulled away.

"Nope," he spoke, unenthused, "Onto the next one."

This went on for a good hour, with the two of them becoming more and more annoyed. Ovuun's taps were becoming more sudden and hard, which caused him to have to take more time for accurate "readings" while finding silverbark.

"Could you at least tell me what you're doing so that I can help?" Colin asked, desperately, at this point.

Ovuun growled, "It's an old family secret. So no. Besides, it takes the highly discerning senses of a dwarf to detect the tell-tale pang of silverbark. The tree must feel dwarven hands, fall in love, and then sing to us!"

This action becoming more odd to him now, Colin looked away to examine his surroundings, noticing an abandoned moonkin nest in the distance.

"Hey, moonkin love shiny objects, right? Wouldn't they have pried out any silverbark?"

Ovuun shrugged as he rubbed his massive hand up and down the next tree, "Aye, I suppose."

Colin carefully advanced toward the nest, carefully making sure that he wouldn't be spotted by any rogue moonkin. He arrived on a small hill that rest above the next, checking for anything shiny before dropping down. Sure enough, he saw a glint from within the nest itself, and made his way over to investigate.

He crouched under a fallen tree that had been adorned with old underbrush, coming to a halt beside the nest. Surely enough, it appeared to have been vacant for a long while. Colin carefully rummaged through the feathers, twigs, and fur until he came across the shiny sliver of wood, quickly grasping it and backing away, heaving a sigh of relief.

He approached Ovuun, who was still massaging the trees, and waved what bit of silverbark he'd found in the air, "Got 'em!"

Then, everything went dark. In an instant.

Colin came to in a fuzzy haze, a sharp pain in his head radiating all over. He clutched at his scalp but quickly noticed that he couldn't move his legs. Not only that, he was being dragged. Gradually grasping the situation, he finally realized he'd been taken captive, most likely by the gigantic mass of feathers that was dragging him.

The moonkin somberly walked along the forest, toward a collection of caves that Colin could see off in the distance. Tugging with his legs, Colin tried to break free in the only way he could, but the moonkin only tightened its grasp, causing a pain now from his ankles, forcing him to stop resisting.

"Hey!" Colin shouted, as though the creature could speak, much less speak human.

The beast didn't reply, nor did it make much of any movement. Colin sighed, realizing he'd lost his knapsack at some point, though he looked around and realized that he had lost Ovuun as well. He must have gotten away…or given the disorganized behavior of these creatures, he could easily have been taken elsewhere. Wiping that thought away, Colin resigned himself to his fate, unable to do much of anything.

After about ten minutes of being dragged, complete with running along rocks and other back-breaking objects, Colin finally noticed the top of a cave enter his vision. He quickly pulled his head up, examining the cave and making sure to remember its details. It seemed so similar to the Ban'ethil Hallow, although not nearly as spacious, though the stench was just as horrendous.

After navigating a winding series of tunnels, the moonkin came to a stop at a series of bars set up within the rock face of the cave, creating something of a prison cell. It opened the tiny gate and stuffed Colin inside, causing a great deal of harm to him in the process as it tried shoving his limbs in after him. Closing the gate, it trudged off, leaving Colin stuck in there, massaging his leg, which appeared to have been severely injured.

Not taking much time, he quickly gathered a few twigs that were laying inside the bars and broke them apart, creating a map on the ground of all the turns that had been made, making sure it was accurate. That finished, he sighed heavily, leaning back against the rock, holding his wrist in his other hand.

He looked around, seeing a few moonkin roaming about. Peering up to the ceiling, he noticed a hole that had been carved out to allow for sunlight, or probably more likely, moonlight. The light coming through had turned a light shade of orange, reminding him of the time of day.

Without his backpack, he had little to entertain himself, so he simply laid there, staring out from his prison. He remembered something about full moon making these things rather cranky, though he wasn't sure if that meant saving things for being eaten later. By now, that thought hardly fazed him; not since he encountered a feral pack of worgen down in Duskwood. He could only hope that Ovuun had gotten out alive and gone out for help.

Surely he wouldn't have been too proud to rescue him by himself…

* * *

Kyra stared off into the woods as she held her bowl of porridge in her hands, the contents having gone cold by now. With only one night of a full moon under her belt, she wasn't sure if that was the reason for her apprehension; Colin was an incredible traveler and survivalist, of course he's be okay. That is, unless…

She had clutched the totem necklace around her neck periodically throughout the day, and the more apprehensive she became, the more regret filled her. Perhaps he needed it more than she did. She sighed as she finally took a spoonful of the soupy food, unable to enjoy the taste that was unmistakably Kalimdorian.

A lieutenant, Lyreas Autumnlight, stride over to check on Kyra after a good hour or so of watching her fidget, "Shadowmoon. Are you not well?"

Kyra sighed, shaking her head, "I'm fine. Just, I'm worried about a friend of mine back in Lor'danel. I cant shake the feeling of…"

She paused, partially because she could sense just how uninterested Lyreas appeared, "I'm from Teldrassil; I've never left before. Would the full moon have anything to do with me feeling so shaky?"

Lyreas peered off in thought, "No. Most Sentinels relish in the idea of fighting within the presence of our mother. Elune gives us strength, not only in body, but in mind."

She looked down toward Lyra, concerned, "If there is something going on with it, I'm sure it'll pass after your first experience with it. It's a new place for you, new everything, and a full moon; it may just be a culmination of all that."

"Elune watches over you, though," Lyreas finished, "If you're feeling this way, surely it's for a reason."

She bowed to Kyra and walked off, leaving her to her own devices, and porridge. Though the lieutenant's words were somewhat comforting, the final part concerned her far more. Colin did not believe in Elune, or at least in her works; why on earth would she bother helping if, indeed, he were in trouble?

Kyra groaned as she stood up, offering her bowl to another Sentinel to finish as she started off toward Sylviia's tent, but only got so far before hearing rabid shouts from behind her; an unmistakably dwarven voice, at that.

"'Oi! Hold up!" Ovuun shouted loudly, nearly falling onto his face as he vaulted over the various rocks and logs that were in his way.

Kyra abruptly stopped and turned back, rushing over toward the stalky man who may have passed out at any moment. As she got close, he started slowing up, and he finally fell to his knees as he came up to Kyra, who knelt down herself to hold his shoulder.

"Lass," Ovuun forced out between heaves, "Colin… Moonkin… took 'im…"

Without much more, Kyra stood back up and stomped toward the weapon rack at the entrance to camp. She popped a glaive from its holster and turned away to come face to face with Sylviia, who looked both concerned and perturbed at this development.

"Sister," Kyra spoke respectfully, yet quietly.

Sylviia peered down toward the glaive in Kyra's hand, then back up to her face, staring for a moment.

When living upon the mighty boughs of Teldrassil, subservient to Elune and observant not to time, you become very neutral. Such is the life of a being so near immortality. Kyra still had the face of a Teldrassillian, and Sylviia had been able to tell immediately upon her arrival. She showed flashes of emotion, but for the most part, Kyra remained as emotionless as her immortality had crafted her.

Now, however, Sylviia was staring into the face of a woman bound and determined. Kyra's face curved in a mass of worry, anger, and fear.

Sylviia turned back toward her Sentinels, then back to Kyra, who was now visibly shaking. Ovuun had recovered by now and he sat on the ground, watching the scene play out, frightened himself.

"Milady, if I may," he spoke up, though he was silemced by Sylviia's hand being held in his direction.

"Go," Sylviia spoke, "Do what you must. I know, already, there's no stopping you."

While she spoke rather bitterly, Kyra didn't care much at this point, and she spun around in a flash, however, Sylviia held her by the arm, forcing Kyra to turn back just as sharply.

"In the limited time I've known you, I've come to see that Tyrande is right," Sylviia spoke up with a grin, "You _are_ too good for these miniscule squabbles. Don't be surprised if you always manage to find yourself chasing higher and higher goals, my child."

Kyra heard her, but wasn't listening as soundly as she might have otherwise. As soon as Sylviia let her go, Kyra turned and walked over toward Ovuun, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him up and along with her.

"Hey!" Sylviia shouted, "Don't think I'm letting you go alone! Not on a night of the full moon!"

She pointed to a few Sentinels, including Lyreas, and then pointed toward Kyra, who hadn't stopped. The four of them took off to catch up, and the small band quickly made it out of Sylviia's view. She gazed off into the distance one last time, perhaps reminiscing on days past where she'd made off in a similar fashion.

Slowly, she turned around, the moon now peeking through some clouds that had come about later in the day. The moonlight gleamed off of the sea of armor, glittering like starlight in the forest.

"Let's take our home," she spoke, confidently, "Just as Shadowmoom is taking her destiny."


	11. Rescued, Rejected

Colin stared at the wall, counting the tiny bits of sediment that were peppered all up and down the rock face. He had counted them four times so far, gotten four different results, and was now doing it just to waste time. His leg still ached, though not as bad as it had been when he was first shoved in. He had remained mostly still the entire time, if only to be prepared for any opening to escape.

He lowered his head, staring at the ground beneath his feet as he hiked his knees up to his chest. The light of the moon trailed down, leaving an elegant stream of light into his cell, resting upon the ground. He had watched and followed it as it had floated against the solid ground, creeping closer to him with every moment.

Muttering to himself had become an activity in and of itself by now, and he spat out something derogatory as a pain shot through his leg. Calming down, he rested his back up against the wall.

By now, all of the moonkin had disappeared, and Colin deduced that they might have all gone outside to stare at the moon or something. The one nearby had made a furious waddle toward the exit as soon as the moonlight first came through the hole in the ceiling, anyway.

*click*

Colin looked around skeptically, rather surprised to hear anything at all, given that for the last hour or so had been incredibly silent. He zeroed in on the door of the cell, staring at it intently. The light of the moon now encompassed the portion of the bars that serves as a gate of sorts, and in the very next instant, the gate slowly began to swing open.

Not sure whether to be ecstatic or frightened, Colin simply sat there for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the open gate. Slowly enough, he pulled himself to his feet and inched toward the exit, carefully maneuvering through the narrow gate, and emerging on the other side. He clutched his thigh, trying to help the pain of having weight on it, and stumbled toward the inner caves, having memorized the map he'd made by now.

Sure enough, his hypothesis seemed to be true, as the caves were entirely devoid of moonkin. Everything remained; it was as if they'd just disappeared in an instant. Colin picked up his pace and finally reached the entrance to the caves, examining the area in front of him. A giant mass of moonkin had gathered nearby, all stating up intently toward the moon, as though it were the only other thing in existence.

Colin carefully worked his way back away from them, circling the encampment, but falling forward as he tried to navigate around. His leg had given out, forcing a curse from his tongue, and he quickly began to crawl away until he could stand again. Finally, he made it into a cluster of bushes to hide in, resting for a moment.

He glanced over to the feathered beasts; they didn't even move. Colin stared at the cluster with an interest, though was mostly angry at how his day had turned out. He slowly emerged and stood up again, hobbling back toward Lor'danel, or at least, he thought. He was just heading in any direction that would take him away from this place.

His vision and his other senses began to wane as he walked. The pain from his leg had become unbearable, and the only reason it wasn't entirely broken by now was due to a simple spell Colin had picked up from somewhere. He held his hand to his forehead as the trees in front of him seemed to multiply, and his dizziness finally overcame him, causing him to fall forward once again. And like that, he was out.

* * *

Next thing he knew, Colin awoke much more comfortably. Even before his eyes had opened, he was surrounded by warmth, which he knew to be from a heavy blanket. His eyes peered through his eyelids, first seeing the tell-tale pinkish hue of night elf lumber. He must have been back in Lor'danel. or, at least, that's what he'd hoped.

As he looked around, a loud crash forced him to jump in surprise, quickly turning his head over toward the entryway. A night elf man stood there, staring down at a collection of porcelain that he must have just dropped. He sighed lowly, shaking his head, before noticing Colin watching him.

"Ah, you're awake," he spoke calmly, "I suppose bringing that matters not, now. Are you well?"

Now ascertaining his health, Colin noticed a splint around his leg, as well as the fact that his headache had go e away. He said as much to the man who had begun to nod while staring out the window.

"Yes, I see. Very good," he noted, "You've been out for two days. You didn't require urgent attention, but we still had priests on call. Shadowmoon made sure of that."

Colin closed his eyes as he replied, the dim sunlight now beginning to put a strain on his eyes, "Thank you. Very much. I thought I would left for dead."

The priest stared at him glumly, "You were only traveling farther away; be thankful that you did pass out."

Colin grinned, but didn't reply as he noticed the man packing up to leave, "You'll remain here until you recover fully, or at least until you can properly use a crutch. I'll let everyone know you're awake."

He bowed before making his exit, though in only a few seconds, Kyra turned the corner into the room, urgently examining Colin's face as though he were still in bad shape. He only grinned, which caused a frown to appear on her face.

"Really?" he chuckled, "I'm fine."

Kyra sighed, pulling a chair over, "This was my fault. I should have never allowed you two to go off, alone, during a full moon. Of course the moonkin would start acting-"

Colin interrupted, "It's fine, it's fine. It was our fault; we should have at least let somebody know where we were going. I should have told you, but I didn't want to bother your mission or anything."

She lowered her head as Colin finished, "You want to be a great soldier, right? I figured you'd have preferred that than playing chaperone again."

Kyra remained silent for a moment, reaching down past the edge of the bed and pulling up the totem that Colin had given to her, laying it beside him, "I know you don't care about this sort of thing, but if this was the thing that would have kept you safe…"

She became visibly saddened, lowering her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "You need it back."

Colin watched her, sadly, holding his hand over her own, causing a star to fall from her eye, "You don't have to do that."

"I didn't even end up going," she spoke up, quietly, "I knew I could take care of myself, but you…"

She looked up at him, "You're so strong, in your own way. I know you hate fighting, maybe even defending yourself; but all the more reason that you need it to protect yourself. Your tauren shaman must have thought the same thing."

Colin sighed, shutting his eyes, "No, you don't… you don't get it. That's not what it's for."

Now confused, Kyra watched him with a reddened face as he continued, "It wasn't meant for protection, it was meant for…"

He lifted his hands from under the blanket and rubbed his eyes, a uncomforting ball of nerves curling up in the pit of his stomach, "I-It's an ardency totem. I give it to somebody and they, you know…"

Colin rolled away, causing a pain to rush up his leg in the process, so that he was facing away from Kyra, "It was supposed to help you develop feelings for me, okay? So my protection has nothing to do with it, and you can stop beating yourself up over it, alright?"

He had spoken so fast, but even despite that, Kyra had been unable to follow along past a particular point. She sort of stared into space at the revelation, though Colin couldn't see that. He shut his eyes is shame, expecting to hear her leaving the room or something, but there was only deafening silence. He stared across the room through a window, wishing he could escape from this situation.

Sure enough, he heard her chair creak from her moving, but in a second, he felt her hand on his shoulder, hearing her voice speaking as steady as ever, "I'm not supposed to fall for mortals. If we were not bound by such vastly different circumstances, you wouldn't need such a thing to have me fall in love with you."

She leaned over and gently kissed his cheek, quickly returning to her standing posture, "I'm sorry."

Hearing her turning to walk away, Colin shut his eyes, trying his hardest to hold back the rainfall of tears that had come from his eyes, his face grimacing in pain, trying to quietly suffer.

"I'm still holding you to your word, "he heard Kyra speak, much more happily, "We're still on our way to Ashenvale to see my sister. I promise, I won't bring this up again, unless you want to."

And after a smile while lowering her head, she left. Colin was alone to stare through tears at the window, not entirely sure why his heart had been torn apart so much. She had given zero reason to expect anything, yet he'd built up such an affection for her that was so unwarranted. He was more upset with himself more than anything.

He returned to laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, pulling his hands a ross his eyes, feeling so very empty. The totem had fallen when he's turned over, and feeling the sting of defeat, he leaned over to pick it up.

It was gone.

He stared at the purpled wood beneath him, trying to make sense of what he'd just noticed. The only conclusion was that Kyra had taken it with her. Now fearful, Colin returned to laying down, more unsure of what was to come than he had been after she'd left.

* * *

Ovuun furiously smashed his hammer against the steeled edge of the sword in his other hand, sobbing as he yelled out, "And you went to all the trouble fer me, lad! I couldn't believe what had happened to ya!"

Colin smiled at the sight, leaning against his crutch near the entryway to his friend's stall. He had just been allowed to leave, so of course, he needed to see Ovuun first, who couldn't visit him in the infirmary because…

"I couldn't live with myself if I didn't put that silverbark to good use!" he continued, with a wail, "I'm gonna make the best damn swords for these people, like ya wouldn't believe!"

As he tossed the finished sword onto the nearby cooling rack, Colin hopped over to him, catching him before he could start on the next sword, "You know I don't blame you, nor do I expect anything like this from you."

Ovuun nodded sadly, "I know, I know. It's just a personal thing, ya know? I'm just happy you're alive, lad; I'd a thought you'd hit the Loch!"

Colin grinned, "Such a timely thing to say!"

"'ey!" Ovuun growled, "Don't talk to a dwarf about timely; you know that!"

With a shrug, Colin grinned, "Of course."

Ovuun patted his you ger friend on the back as he led the two toward the other end of the tent, "Now I know ya don't fight, and about all I can smith are arms, so I hope you don't mind not havin' one yerself, but…"

He pulled a blanket from a table, revealing an elegant sword beneath it, adorned with a particularly elvish style to it. The hilt swirled around the handle, and what appeared to be a moon rock was held within the end of the handle itself. Most notably, however, the sword glowed a dark, purplish blue.

"I came across some moonrock while I was down in the Needles. I figured it was the least I could do for yer lass; what with her givin' up on 'er dream 'n all that."

Colin looked at the fine work Ovuun had done, "It's exquisite. She'll love it."

Ovuun shrugged, "Bah, I didn't do it fer points. In case you couldn't tell, we ain't the best of friends or nothin'"

He lowered his head, crossing his arms, "It's just, a dwarf knows where to give thanks, despite any past transgressions. Short of throwing this sword in the ocean, I don't particularly mind how she accepts it. Just so I've paid my thanks in the only way I truly ca-"

The two turned as Kyra appeared, carefully rounding the corner so as to not interrupt. Ovuun stared at her, but she didn't return the gesture, actually standing at attention, though with her head aimed downwards.

"I didn't get a chance to say this to you, sir; what with you burying yourself in work and me keeping tabs on your friend. I just wanted to say that it meant a lot to me that you ran so far to find us in order to help him. In that, you have my life-long thanks, and my respect."

Ovuun sighed, gently taking his sword from Colin and walking over toward Kyra and handing it to her, looking away, as though still ashamed. She could only smile as she graciously accepted his gift, even though he remained silent.

"Thank you," Kyra spoke softly, not wanting to be rude by appraising whatever it was she'd been given right then and there, "I've already let the Sentinels here know. If you ever need help, any of them will be at your side, should you find them."

Colin could see tears coming from Ovuun's eyes, as he was turned away, and the dwarf shook his head, "You do too much fer a dwarf who had come for profits."

"Whatever brought you here," Kyra corrected, "Tribulations demonstrate who we truly are. You have a good heart, dwarf, regardless of your initial goals."

Ovuun failed to reply, so Kyra only smiled as she continued, "I believe we're leaving soon. If our lives cross paths again, I do hope we'll be better acquaintances, if not friends."

She strapped the sword around her shoulders as Colin approached her on his way out. She gave Ovuun a final glace, then turned around herself and began to walk out. She met with Colin at the entryway, who was about as despondent as the dwarf had been, and began to leave when Ovuun stomped out from his stall.

He angrily clenched his fist, nearly scowling, "Anvilmars NEVER start things they that cannot, also, finish."

And with that, he held his hand out, still gritting his teeth. Kyra watched him rather carefully, but smiled once more as she took his hand in a handshake. Colin watched nearby, happy to see the two having, at least somewhat, made up. Kyra's personality and mind had changed so much since they'd left. In that, he felt a twinge of hope.

* * *

Colin Dumerval Journal Entry

To-Do List:

1) Procure rudimentary archaeology equipment

2) Repay Ovuun for sword

3) Find Howa Ragewind- Last seen in STORMWIND


	12. The Skirmish at Maestra's Post

Deep within the dark burrows of Moonglade lie the massive dens, layeth with druids who find themselves in deep sleep, communing with the Emerald Dream. While many druids simply become servants of the earthly avatars of druids long passed, very few distinguish themselves as great warriors of Cenarius, Elune, or other deities that seek out great ability.

Some, however, end up wayward; lost within themselves, finding nothing when they enter the Dream. While not totally futile, this is the worst fate for a druid, for they can still taste nature's power, but cannot truly attain it. There is one test, however, that all druids must endure; one that allows all to understand a druid's place in the world.

Loganaar, the most prominent trainer of these druids, stepped quietly amongst the Barrow Den, as he'd done for thousands of years, as though making the slightest sound could awaken one of them. He would peer deeply into their faces, by now able to see through their eyelids in order to ascertain their state of being. These were initiates; more advanced druids could dream with eyes open.

While Loganaar moved quietly, he heard loud stomping from behind him, belonging to only one other person who could be this deep into the Den. Hamuul Runetotem's giant hoofs shook the ground he stepped upon, echoing loudly in the enclosed den. Loganaar, now used to it, wasn't fazed.

"Have I ever told you that you always know how to make an entrance?" the old night elf spoke, dryly.

Hamuul grinned, "I like to give warning of my arrival. We tauren may be peaceful, but only thanks to our ability to move the Earth we tread. How are our students?"

Loganaar nodded lightly, "Good, good. Everybody seems as though they are communing easily enough."

"And Ascal?"

Breathing a deep sigh, Loganaar shook his head, giving his answer silently. Hamuul seemed much less upset by the development and simply continued his way deeper into the Barrow Den, Loganaar following at his side.

"His one thousandth slumber is fast approaching…" Loganaar muttered nervously, "He has so much potential; I'd hate to see-"

"That's irrelevant," Humuul snorted, "The Earthmother knows all. Sees all. If he has no use here, than so be it. You get too attached to your pupils, Loganaar. We have little to no power over them when it comes to their successes."

Loganaar nodded, "I'm just worried. The number of Arch Druids is declining. I'm just thinking of what exactly your Earthmother is thinking."

As though it was an afterthought, he went on after a moment, "And of course I get attached. If you watched your students for thousands of years, you would be too."

"We'll see," Hamuul grinned, knowingly.

The two made it to the deepest reaches of the Den, where the most experienced initiates would dream. In Ascal's case, "experience" meant that he'd only spent so much time in slumber. Hamuul approached the night elf, carefully examining him. His hair had grown scraggily, as had his facial hair, which made him look more like a lion than anything.

"He's trying," Hamuul admitted, "He isn't even getting his hair cut between slumbers."

Loganaar shook his head, "He just wakes up and immediately makes his way down the halls. I cant remember the last time he's seen the light of day. I can remember his first day here, though, strangely."

"There's nowhere lower," Hamuul noted aloud, as though ignorant of his friend's memories.

Suddenly, Ascal began to stir, as though waking up. Hamuul and Loganaar watched readily as his eyes shot open, leading him to raise his head to see the two faces that greeted him.

"How was it?" Loganaar spoke, softly.

Ascal lowered his head, almost in shame, as Hamuul burst out, "What did you see?"

The young night elf quickly stared up at the tauren, his attention having been fully captured, though he had no words. This, again, seemed to silently answer the question. Hamuul gave a massive sigh, his breath heating up the entire cove where they stood.

"Same as always," Ascal spoke, disappointed, "I know you two want something, but…"

He trailed off before Loganaar began, "Look, you have one last slumber. Your thousandth. There have been plenty of druids who've come through during this slumber. If Elune wills it…"

Hamuul took over, his voice more akin to a growl, "And we'll be very much expecting that to happen. If not, I'm sure Remulos will enjoy another young one to help keep up appearances around here."

Hamuul turned to walk off, leaving Loganaar behind. He sighed, patting Ascal on the shoulder in understanding, pulling out a pair of scissors and beginning to cut his hair.

"I know you're trying your hardest," Loganaar spoke up, quietly, "Perhaps looking your best will help."

Ascal sat silently by, as though only remaining awake to please his teacher. There was more than enough hair to go around, so Loganaar had no particular need to be careful, though he still kept an eye out.

"You know, I know the circumstances surrounding why you first came here, but you've been lost in slumber ever since," Loganaar muttered aloud, "I never learned why you remain here. Why you continue to do this."

Ascal sat there still, as though a defeated man, though with a flame still lingering within his eyes, "Because despite the results, I feel as though this is where I belong. Something needs me here. And whether or not I'm trimming trees, I will continue to return to the Emerald Dream. One of these days I'll find Elune, or Cenarius; maybe even Malfurion himself."

Loganaar grinned at the thought, "Just don't let it go to your head. Relax, and focus. One thousandth or not, this slumber is just like any other."

Ascal nodded as he fell backward, curling up in his bed of hay and feathers. Loganaar stood up with his hands full of hair, watching as his student began to fall back asleep. He frowned, turning and shaking his head, before walking off to join Hamuul up further.

* * *

Ashenvale resembled Teldrassil so much more than Darkshore had. As soon as they'd entered the area Kyra became a lot more animated in her face as she oo'ed and ah'd at the creatures, the trees, and the smell of a healthy forest. She was more at home now, and she excitedly walked on ahead.

Colin, on the other hand, had been a lot more quiet since they had left Lor'danel. True to her word, Kyra didn't speak a thing about his solitary aura, nor did she talk much about anything else. Their walk down the length of Darkshore was nearly devoid of any speech whatsoever, save for the occasional Darnassian exclamation when Kyra noticed something odd, beautiful, or straight-up foreign to her.

Colin was still in odd territory at this point. He had just arrived in Astranaar when Tyriel's handymen had accosted him, and since then, his travels had been more of a blur than anything until hed gotten to Teldrassil. He knew that, coming from Darkshore, Maestra's Outpost would be the first landmark the two would come across, and indeed, when he'd been here before, he spotted the single, iconic tower from the back of a nightsaber saddle.

"It's so much like home," Kyra opined aloud, "It's like home, but more wild, I guess."

"It certainly seems a lot more unkempt," Colin noted as he stared at a map he had held in front of him, "We could take the opportunity to spend the night once we get to the outpost; at least, if it's allowed."

Kyra nodded, "From what I know, that's usually the case."

Once again the two fell into silence, though with the freshness of Ashencale waning, Kyra noticed it a lot more this time. Before, she understood that Colin had been, more or less, sulking or, at the very least, secluding himself inside his own world. This seemed to be an unusual amount of time, however, and she grew a bit worried.

Soon enough, a massive tower came into sight, reaching as high as the tallest trees in the forest. Kyra was the first to marvel at the structure; indeed, it was the very first thing one would notice upon entering the ancient land. Night elves had been so known as reclusive that such a prominent sign would usually awake a patriotic flame within other night elves who saw it.

As they arrived, they were greeted warmly by the inhabitants. While it was indeed a military outpost, it also served as a sort of station for travelers it turned out. Colin noticed a few humans there, and quickly realized that it had been a month or so since he had even seen a fellow man. Amidst the greetings being passed around, everybody fell silent as a priestess approached, clad all in white, obviously evoking a greatly respected aura.

"Moon Priestess Maestra," one of the Sentinals acknowledged as she bowed before the near angelic being.

Kyra did the same, though Colin unknowingly remained standing, causing a sort of chuckle from the priestess, "Please, do as this human does, Shadowmoon. Travelers have no need for prostration in this grimy place."

Immediately standing up, Kyra stared, shocked, at Maestra, who seemed to catch on quickly, "Elune was sure to fortell your arrival, of course. You both seem to frequent a lot of what she has to say lately."

Colin grimaced, though the priestess didn't call any attention to it as she went on, "In any case, we're happy to have you both here for as long as you two require. I'm sure Broadleaf will assist in getting you two situated here."

Maestra smiled as a tall elf walked over, bowing, and then she bowed as well before making her way back toward the tower, the grounds becoming a lot more talkative. Orendil showed the two their beds for the night before leaving the two alone.

"Please, enjoy your stay," he spoke graciously as he left.

Colin examined the small tent that surrounded the two and quietly began unpacking his bag, making sure to catalogue whatever procurement he would receive while here. In the meantime, Kyra simply stared at him, watching what he was doing. Given how close they were in this tent, she was surprised he didn't notice.

Colin pulled out his journal, the first page being the one that showed what he had given Kyra just a few days ago. He stared at the page, which Kyra even noticed as oddly lengthy, before burying the whole book in his bag. Suddenly, he turned and walked over toward the exit.

"I'll go see if I cant find some food, or something useful," he muttered quietly before leaving.

Kyra watched him leave before studying the bag he had shoved his journal into. It only occurred to her to sneak a peek only once, and afterward, she mentally flogged herself for even thinking of something so shady. She decided it was about as good of time as any to get to sleep, so she removed her armor, laying in her bed, staring up toward the top of the tent.

Colin walked around the small encampment, weighing the cost of various supplies. He took stock meticulously, though only because he had been traveling for quite a long time. He figured out that earning money is rather difficult while traveling, so conservation is essential. To that end, he carefully picked and chose exact needs for himself and Kyra.

Afterwards, he made his way back to his tent, careful not to wake Kyra up. He slowly arranged his belongings, periodically looking over his shoulder to check on Kyra's status. The final time he did this, though, his stare lingered. She looked incredibly beautiful at that moment, and Colin had an incredible task once he finally decided to look away.

He left the tent again, staring up at the twilit sky. The forest seemed to even give lift to the very air here, and the different spots of energy that flew through the wind swirled around as though playing. He was commented here, even despite the various emotions that swirled around his heart.

Suddenly, a loud *CLAP* burst through the sky, immediately causing Colin to leap up in surprise. It sounded more like cannon fire, actually; a sound that had scalded itself in his mind. He knew it had to have been real, as every Sentinel in the place had immediately begun to rush around every which way. Colin turned, studying the hills around the Post, finally noticing a cannon being hoisted up onto the top of a nearby embankment. He panicked, but as soon as he had time to think of what to do, another crash of gunpowder rang through the air, and the top of Maestra's tower exploded in a hellish glory.

Colin stared up at it, shocked, before a great jolt woke him up and shook his body at the same time. Orenthil had tackled him to the ground in order to obscure him from any flying projectile. He looked up and over the elf's arm, just able to make out a swarm of orcs rushing toward him.

With the speed of a river's rapids, a large collection of night elves appeared, meeting the orcs and engaging them; their metal filling their air with clangs. Recognizing that the Horde cannons wouldn't fire toward their own forces, Orenthil quickly arose and pulled Colin to his feet.

"They're back," he spoke, calmly, which now seemed more odd than ever to Colin, "Come on; we need to get you and the other travelers to safety."

Colin obliged, though as they began to rush off, a giant wolf leapt at them from the side, knocking the two over dramatically. Colin had just seen the orc atop of it as it had happened, just now getting a decent look as he pushed himself up off the ground. The orc grimaced at the two, turning to marvel at the damage done to the massive tower, probably recognizing the two as little threat.

Orenthil stood up and whipped his hand around, readying a burst of magic, but the orc was quick to rein his wolf in, forcing the beast to lunge toward the elf. Orenthil was quick to dodge the strike, but as the wolf swooped around, Kyra flew from, seemingly, nowhere, knocking the orc from atop his mount, forcing the wolf to go into a rampage, now without instruction.

Kyra grappled with the orc, who desperately attempted to regain his advantage. Colin quickly ran toward the two as the orc finally got a good punch in at Kyra's face, knocking her down, greatly fazed. The orc whipped out a cutlass, waving it around as he took a single step toward his fallen prey. Immediately, Colin flew into him, careful to grasp the orc's arm as his body flew into him. Furiously thrashing about, the orc began pummeling Colin with his free hand, attempting to get his sword free, but his adversary refused to let go.

Suddenly, a whisk of air flew deadly close to Colin's ear, and the orc ceased to struggle. During the fight, Colin had shut his eyes, and even now kept them shut, knowing what had just happened. Kyra quickly returned, prying Colin from the orc's arm, and picking him up. He opened his eyes only then, noticing Orenthil taking a large smack to his head as he tried to calm the feral wolf. Kyra reclaimed her the dagger she had discharged so efficiently, about to help the druid with the wolf, albeit with more forceful means.

Finally, a burst of calm light descended upon the whole of the Post and Colin spun around to witness Maestra standing there, arm outstretched up in the air, radiating with a golden aura. He wasn't sure what was happening, but quickly enough, Colin recognized the bruises he had received began to lose their tenderness and, after a quick look around, some if the fallen night elves began to return to their feet.

Colin couldn't tell just how many people had been on either side, but all he cared about was the giant wolf that was still thrashing about, dangerously close, now, to the priestess behind him. As though lured by the light, the wolf pinpointed Maestra as his target, and it snarled furiously, pouncing toward her. Without thinking, Colin grasped the orc's cutlass and whipped it in front of him just as the wolf tore through the air, feeling the edge of the sword cutting through the beast's face.

The wolf growled severely, now at Colin, as a massive collection of nightsabers jumped off from an embankment adjacent to the Post, the night elves atop of them wielding swords and bows. The first of the squadron leapt from her mount while it, too, was in flight, and she gracefully landed atop the beast, straddling its neck and grasping a tuft of its hair to hold on as it began to frantically thrust its body in various directions.

The elf began to recite some words in Darnassian, which Colin could only vague hear through the ferocious movements, but Orenthil began to do the same, and Colin only concluded that it had been the same sort of incantation. The man completed his words and in that instant, the night elf drew her sword across the beast's neck, covering the wound with her hand and grappling its head and burying it against her chest as the feral creature began to lose strength, slowly falling down to its knees before collapsing, the elf stepping off at the last second, still holding her hand to its neck.

Though there were still explosions and metallic bursts in the air, Colin couldn't hear it. The scene before him seemed strangely peaceful, at least given the frenzied atmosphere from just minutes earlier. Orenthil approached the woman and placed his hand atop the wolf's head, rubbing it gently.

"Cenarius will be sure to treat him well," he muttered, as though speaking to everybody and everything around him.

With that, the woman removed her hand from its neck, pulling it soft along the wolf's fur, as though returning its blood, gracefully. She peered over toward the combat that was continuing a ways away and she spoke up, rather sadly.

"Take care of the poor creature," she said to Orenthil, "I'll make sure there aren't any more of them."

Orenthil nodded as she ran off toward the action. Colin quickly noticed that he had lost Kyra during the fray, assuming she had run off to join the battle. He gingerly approached the dead animal, reaching out to rest his hand on its gigantic head. Orenthil looked up from what he was doing toward Colin, who seemed to be a some sort of shock, though not severely.

"Do not be saddened," Orenthil spoke heavily, perhaps even reverently, "This creature deserved a better fate than what it had endured in life. I know, in some deep recess of its soul, it prefers this. Cenarius will ensure this beast has a better life among the spirits."

Colin didn't move, although he'd heard the man. He felt saddened by line that had been etched into the wolf's face by his weapon, but perhaps this druid had something to his words.


	13. Vylira

Kyra stood beside Maestra as the priestess knelt beside a group of night elves that had perished during the battle. She had attempted to ensure their survival, but the tell-tale shadows that accompanied their wounds told of a fate far more sinister than she could have compensated for.

"Fel magic," she spoke aloud, Kyra's ears perked, "Why would the Horde have use of this? I know the demons to the East have been known to masquerade, yet they've never demonstrated the ability to perform goals. This incursion was obviously to being down this tower."

Colin arrived alongside Orenthil, the two having been carrying bodies away from the post. The human had only heard the tail end as he spoke up.

"Why such a minuscule action, though?"

Maestra peered up toward him, "This tower was more so a symbol to my people than anything else. I'm sure it was more of an attempt to dampen our morale, more than anything. If they truly wished to slay us all, they certainly could have."

Colin shuddered. At that moment, the woman from earlier, who seemed to be the leader of that pack of nightsabers, approached the small group, speaking to another Sentinel.

"-and we'll go from there. Just make sure we- Kyra?"

Kyra, herself, gave a start as she turned to her, and the two gasped rather loudly. In a second, the nightsaberess had jumped clear over to Kyra, wrapping her arms tightly around her, much to Kyra's surprise. Soon enough, though, she returned the gesture, and the two excitedly rocked back and forth.

"Vylira?" Kyra spoke, still shocked, "I didn't expect you for another few days of travel! Why are you so far west?"

Vylira, whom Colin could only ascertain was Kyra's sister, excitedly replied, "We were expecting such an attack after we noticed their forces moving along the border. We stationed ourselves at Astranaar, since that seemed more likely a target. I wasn't expecting them to be concerning themselves with symbolism. We caught word immediately and rushed here as fast as we could."

"And saved me in the process," Kyra grinned slightly, "Again."

At that, Vylira became visibly angry, "And what in the world brings _you_ here?! Your post is on Teldrassil!"

Kyra was about to reply, but her sister reached out and held her again, cutting off any reply, along with some circulation, "I couldn't live with myself knowing you'd been killed within my sphere of leadership! You were so much safer upon our home!"

Now, Kyra became miffed, probably not wanting to be addressed as a child, "For your information, I handled myself quite well. I'm not the sickly kid you left at home, remember."

She spoke in a statement, rather than a question, though it was all the same to Vylira who sighed lightly, "Well...you're okay. That's all that matters."

Having met with her sister, Vylira turned toward the only other unexpected person, "A human! What brings you to these lands?"

Colin began to reply, but Kyra cut him off, "We're traveling together. I took a sabbatical and Colin, here, happens to be an explorer of sorts, so he's my guide, knowing more than I do."

"'Colin', hm?" Vylira inspected him, slowly reaching out to shake his hand, "And you're not some schemer out to wrest something from my sister, are you?"

Again, before he could defend himself, Kyra took the role, "Vylira! I know whom I can trust and who I cannot! I'm not your 'little' sister anymore!"

Vylira looked at her sister skeptically, but ultimately sighed and nodded, "I know, I know. You're still the little girl who'd come running to greet me once I had finished my patrol."

Her face took a dark turn, "You're also still the girl who lost my glaive in the lake."

Kyra rubbed her face, "Please, not in front of our priestess."

Lost in all of this was Maestra, who seemed to enjoy the familial air and bickering.

* * *

Vylira returned to Astranaar, still skeptical of the Horde's movements, with the promise of still being there when Kyra and Colin came through. She and her sisters, that is, sisters in arms, etched markings into their armor symbolizing the number of lives they had taken, adding to the high amount they had already had, taking the opportunity presented by Maestra being there to have their armor newly blessed. Indeed, the Silverwings were an elite set.

Kyra was left more than a little spellbound by the presence of the warriors. Though she knew she was unprepared for such things, Kyra still longed to be one of them, and she was noticeably quiet after her sister had left. She also had to contend with the fact that she had Colin hadn't spoken much at all for days now, a fact that saddened her greatly.

She understood his thoughts, his feelings, but aside from her not necessarily being of the same romantic cloth, she knew very well that such a coupling was incredibly discouraged, if not taboo, and that succumbing to such things only led to dark places. Still, she respected the man's feelings, and ever since her friendly kiss, she felt more bound to him that usual, though it _had_ been a part of a ritualistic act, which she attributed it to. She still thought, in hindsight, it may not have been the greatest act to perform.

She gently rested her armor beside the moonwell that served as consecration for the nearby post and western entrance in general. She removed the clothing she wore underneath and stepped into the purifying waters, meticulously grabbing handfuls of the ghostly water to pour upon herself.

The cold water ran down her body and she immediately became self conscious, flashing back to that drawing Colin had done. She peered over her shoulder, finding nobody, and returning to her activity, not sure why she had done that. Was she hoping to see somebody?

In fact, from the kiss onward, which she had wholly meant as a symbolic demonstration of friendship, her entire outlook on the man had changed. She looked at the necklace that she had laid down beside her armor; a shamanic totem, given to her by Colin, supposed to make her fall for him. She stared at it hard. Had it been working?

She left the moonwell, her purification complete, although ironically, as her mind was a mess. She returned her armor to her body and picked up the necklace, examining the carving of a fox on its face. Why was it even a fox? She sighed, recognizing that she was now asking odd questions. Instead of putting it back around her neck, she dropped it into one of the pockets her clothing provided underneath her armor and returned to the encampment, still reeling.

She quietly entered into her tent, not wanting to wake Colin up, but she gave a gasp. A blue handprint rested upon his cheek; the same cheek where that priestess on Telsrassil had touched him. Kyra was shocked; he had clearly removed it. He said as much, and afterwards, she couldn't detect any trace of it. She slowly approached his cot, leaning down to examine the moonlight that reflected upon his face. It was clearly the same handprint; clearly, Maestra hadn't done the same thing, nor would Colin have allowed her to, Kyra was sure.

She desperately wanted to touch it to examine it further, but that risked waking Colin up, so she refrained. As she returned to her own cot, she heard the rustling of blankets and noticed that the moonlight on the walls of the tent had disappeared. Colin leaned up noticed that Kyra had returned.

"Hey," he murmured groggily, rubbing his eyes.

Kyra didn't reply, only because she was still taken aback by his cheek, but Colin continued after a heavy yawn, "Some day, huh."

"Yes," Kyra hastily quipped, coming to.

Colin sat up and adjusted his shirt, "You've mentioned your siblings before, but are they all so protective of you? The only Kyra I know could take down a Burrow of furbolgs."

She sighed, grimacing, "Well, they haven't seen me since I was a child. Some have, I mean, but Vylira lives and breathes the life of a Silverwings; she couldn't ever visit much. Oddly enough, she was my favorite sister; I admired her so for her tenacity and strength."

"Traits you've certainly emulated," Colin noted, "I'm an only child though, so the whole dynamic is sort of lost on me. You learn real quick that your best friends become brothers and sisters."

Colin turned to look at Kyra immediately noticing that the necklace had left her neck. He wasn't exactly surprised, but he was rather disheartened, despite believing that he had no right to expect her to have kept it on in the first place. He heard a barely audible sigh from her as she had finished resting her armor near her cot.

"Some of my siblings, you wouldn't want to meet," she voiced, quietly, with a great darkness, "You don't live four hundred years without seeing loved ones turned to enemies. Another good trait of a mortal."

Colin turned away, almost in reverence, now a bit uncomfortable. He didn't reply, but as Kyra laid down on her cot, he did the same, wrapping his arms back around his pillow. In the darkness, and given the quiet air of quiet needed for sleep, it wasn't nearly as tense of an air as it might have been. It, of course, couldn't last.

"I do wish I were more than mortal," Colin muttered, offhandedly, though he wasn't entirely sure why he had.

He knew what he'd said, and that it opened up a lime of questioning he had wanted to avoid; one that Kyra promised bot to discuss unless he had brought it up, as he just had. He only hoped that she hadn't heard, or had fallen to sleep quickly. Perhaps she would know not to press the issue?

"There are many things you would not enjoy about-"

"I know of one thing I would greatly enjoy," Colin interrupted, both of them continuing to be still in their beds.

Kyra was taken aback by his sudden statement, and was now miffed. Colin, himself, was now quite embarrassed, so he remained silent. Neither of them spoke again before sleep overcame them, albeit uncomfortably.

* * *

Colin stood alone against one of the small cottages that stood in the area of the small outpost, looking out at the recovery effort. There were both humans and elves helping with the clean up, which was mostly just collecting the various fragments of the tower, which stood about half as tall as it once had. Colin had wanted to help, but was reminded of his meeting in Astranaar and told to go on.

The prospect of staying here now seemed more appealing than continuing on with Kyra. He was more upset with himself than anything, especially considering the night before. He simply clammed up and stared off into the distance, though Kyra still refrained from saying anything the few times they had spoken today. At the moment, she was meeting with Maestra in order to create a list of supplies to have sent back once she had made it to Astranaar. From there, hippogryphs would go to and from Darnassus for whatever wasn't readily available.

As Colin watched the people picking up the ruined tower, he turned toward a lone nightsaber rider entering the outpost, one who bore a striking resemblance to Kyra's sister. She met with Orenthil, who had come to greet her, and the two discussed a few things before Vylira sent him off with her mount. Now on foot, she looked around, immediately noticing Colin, and approached him, much to his chagrin.

In no mood to socialize, he still stood up straight and greeted her as she came toward him, "Hey, uh, Vylira, correct?"

"Ashra thoraman?" she asked in Darnassian, which caught Colin by surprise.

He shrugged, "Sorry, I don't speak-"

She grinned suddenly, causing him to halt his speech, her face becoming rather mischievous, "My apologies, human. You've been here before, yes?"

Colin nodded, "Well, sort of. Between here and Astranaar was sort of a-"

He paused again, noticing the same teasing expression on her face, continuing only softly, "You know."

" _Knew_ ", she clarified, "I had my eye on you since you'd first come here. Of course I knew something was up when you met up with Tyriel's courier. Had I known you would end up here, again, and with my sister, I might have considered stopping you."

"I take it you wanted her to stay on Teldrassil?"

Vylira contorted her lips in thought, "Not so much that, as not wanting her to be in your company. I had my eyes on you for a reason, human; it's odd for anybody to enter Ashenvale. I still don't know if you're up to something or-"

Now his turn to force her halt, Colin knelt down and pulled his pack around his body, rummaging through it to pull out a sketchbook of his, handing it to Vylira, who accepted it curiously. He noticed her critiquing eyes soften a bit as she scanned through the pages, taking longer to examine a few.

"I haven't been home in quite some time," she pointed out, "Quite nice to see it again. And this was done by a human, no less. Impressive."

She handed the book back to Colin and examined him up and down, causing an uncomfortable shiver to run through the latter's body, "Is there something else?"

She shook her head, "No. I was just curious what kind of man you were. I need to know what kind of person my sister is traveling with. I was sent here to escort you two to Astranaar, in case of any further Horde incursion. A more selfish reason was to question you."

"You're very protective of her," Colin pointed out, as though it were new information.

Vylira shrugged herself, "We all are. I don't think we can help it; she could become Syndragosa's right hand woman and we'd still be acquainted with that tiny thing that cried endlessly. It's a testament to her willpower, honestly, that she even made it to maturity."

She peered off into the distance, as though watching to see if Kyra was around, "You know, I always thought about it. She cried so much as a child, and then she just stopped. I'm sure it was because she wanted to be strong, but… At least for me, anyway, it just worried me more, knowing she was bearing it all. She never spoke to any of us about any problems. She just, you know, kept it in."

Grinning sadly, Vylira finished, "I almost think I'd trust her strength more if she were more willing to depend on others. Ask for help, cry around them when she's overwhelmed; then I'd at least know she'd be able to handle herself. She can be as strong as she wants; as a Silverwing, I know, you're resolve at your lowest matters far more than at your highest."

Colin, who was an only child, took what she had said to heart. It also surprised him that Kyra's siblings hadn't seen her cry, though he had witnessed it twice. It was information he knew very well not to indulge, but at the same time, he felt a great sense of trust, knowing that Kyra had allowed him to witness such a private side if her.

Vylira pulled her arm up, pointing her thumb over her shoulder, "We'd better head on out soon, if Kyra's finished here. Do you know where she-"

She turned to see Kyra standing there, a blank stare on her face, "More interrogations, I see?"

Vylira grinned, "Only to ascertain whom my sister is entrusting her companionship to. He checks out. Anybody so able to capture the beauty of my home on paper surely has good intentions."

Kyra tried to hide a blush that caught both Colin and Vylira's attention, "Falore?"

The younger sister didn't reply, and simply began walking down the path to Astranaar, leaving Vylira to stare at her, wide-eyed, her speculations running rampant. She immediately turned to Colin, who's face was just as confused as hers, which seemed to quell her worries. It must not have been anything involving him, after all.

Vylira sighed, shaking her head, "You two are going to be the death of me."

Grinning, Colin replied, "Don't worry; you won't be the last, I assure you."


	14. A Single Moon

The three arrived in Astranaar to a bustle that Colin had never seen in a night elf settlement. They had always seemed so serene, yet here, people were running left and right from building to building, carrying crates, armor, etc. Colin watched, surprised, as Kyra brought up the topic.

"Why is it so busy?"

Vylira nodded, "Partly it's the effort back at Maestra's Post. Aside from that, there are some fire elementals causing some havoc to the east. Nothing dangerous, but it has everybody worried; Astranaar hasn't been attacked in thousands of years."

Kyra watched the various elves running back and forth, noticing one who actually had on armor, stopping them and pulling out her missive from Maestra, "Who's organizing this all?"

The soldier replied and Kyra handed her the letter, "Make sure you pass this on to them."

Nodding, they ran off once more, leaving Kyra turning back toward her sister, "And who's keeping an eye on the elementals?"

Vylira sighed, "I don't know. Look, you just got here- you haven't even been here before! Can't I at least show you around before you run off back to work?"

Kyra reluctantly nodded as she groaned herself, leaving Vylira to continue, "By the goddess, you'd think you were Tyrande herself. Aren't you on a sabbatical? Why are you so quick to play soldier?"

Colin admired Vylira's ability to ask questions he had no place to ask himself, though Kyra's reply scorched the two of them, "Should I apologize for wanting to fight for my people?!"

Drolly, Vylira replied, "Falore, you need to-"

"And you're a Silverwing!" Kyra interrupted, accusingly.

Vylira scoffed, "Is that what this is about? You want to run off and be a Silverwing? There's more, even to _that_ , than being in endless combat, I'm afraid. But go on, play soldier all you want. I won't stop you."

Kyra stared at her sister, thinking about her dare, before turning and stomping off toward the other end of the small village. Colin stood there, a tightness in his stomach due to how uncomfortable he had been during all of this. In an instant, however, Vylira turned around toward him, raising her arms in a questioning manner.

"Well, I guess I can still show _you_ around. You weren't properly introduced to my love, Astranaar, last time, correct?"

Colin peered off beyond her shoulder, "Shouldn't we-"

"Look," she spoke up, gravely, "Why did Kyra come with you?"

Colin stared at her deep eyes, confused, though he knew the answer; it had rolled around in his mind since day one, "To find her place in this world, I suppose."

"What if her place is just fifteen feet down the road?" Vylira questioned, quietly, "What if her place doesn't involve you?"

At this, Colin heated up in embarrassment, though as she went on, he managed to remain calm, "What if her place wouldn't involve me?"

Colin lowered his head, causing Vylira to sigh in compassion, "Look, let's just give her her time in whatever it is she wants. In the meantime, we have some spidersilk stew in the common room. Care to try some?"

Feeling guilty, Colin stared off again, though he returned to reality sooner this time. He didn't want to leave Kyra, but at the same time, she had been the one to run off anyway. Dismayed, he relinquished, following Vylira into the large building.

* * *

Colin stared at the swirling bowl of soup he held in his hand, noticing bits of, what appeared to be, meat, though it honestly could have been anything. He took the spoon and poked on it as much as he could, given the consistency, and only looked up once Vylira took her seat.

"There aren't any illnesses a human could end up with saying this, right?" he asked, skeptically, returning his attention to what been served to him.

Vylira shrugged, "Not that I know of. It's said that Khadgar himself ate gallons of this every day, though that was mostly just an advert. The same caller claimed Valerian ate it and cried with happiness."

Colin dipped his spoon into the liquid and pulled it out, examining its viscosity as Vylira questioned, "So, why didn't you go with my sister?"

"Well," Colin started, thankful for the lack of ability to eat and talk, "I have a sort of aversion to violence. at least when it comes to myself. I know it's a part of life, but it's a part I don't care to partake in. I'd think Kyra would have known that when she ran off earlier."

Vylira grinned, "And you two couldn't be more different, huh?"

Colin sighed, peering away as he noticed this, "I suppose, though it's more to do with our goals than personalities. I don't particularly mind though; like I said, I accept violence as a reality."

His host finished chewing a bite of stew and rested her head on her propped-up hands, "And why are you so…adverse to it?"

Colin shrugged, "When I was a kid, I lived on Theramore, so violence was more or less a daily thing. One day the Horde assaulted the fort and killed most everybody before being repelled; I had to watch a lot of people I loved die."

"And yet you became an adventurer," Vylira noted, ironically, "Going on to break bread with that same faction."

As though noticing this for the first time, Colin lowered his head, "I've…thought a lot about that. At first, sure, I was upset, but…"

He sighed, "There's a lot I've had to come to terms with. Sure, it was the Alliance who were encroaching upon their land, but what would have been a more constructive response? That's why I became, more or less, a neutral faction myself; there can be no winners in this war."

"I would rather die myself than live with the guilt of having killed another," Colin concluded, taking a bite of the stew, which was about as bitter as his words.

Vylira grinned, "You certainly are unique. Do you usually see things as so black and white?"

Grinning again, Colin stared back at her, "If you ask anybody who has known me, I'm either a saint or a sinner. There's no real middle ground that I'm concerned with, and I'd like to be known more for that first one than the second."

He returned back to dissecting his bowl, missing Vylira's longing glance at him, before he asked, "What about you? What's your life story?"

"In fifty words or less?" she questioned quickly, before continuing, "Well, I'm bound by duty to my people, and, after so many hundreds of years, I've become more disillusioned with the life of a soldier."

She stared up at the sky, before smirking and returning to the conversation, "You have to kill a hell of a lot of people to be known after death as a great soldier."

"So you want to be known?" Colin asked, sincerely.

Vylira shrugged, "I mean, more like remembered, I guess. I want to make my mark on this world. That's why I became a Silverwing; it was so volatile here before, it seemed a fast track to glory. After so many years of rigor, you miss the more tender things in life, I guess."

She shot a glance at her human companion, "We can't all have slept beside taurens and trolls."

Catching what she was getting at, Colin only grinned as he finally pushed his bowl of soup to the side, "Touché."

* * *

Night fell quickly while Colin was in Vylira's presence. She had a much faster pace in life than Kyra had, and while it was exhausting, it certainly reminded him more of the bustle of home than the tranquil hours upon Teldrassil than Kyra seemed to evoke. Vylira left him in the guest room, and without asking, told him she'd direct Kyra to the same place. Had there been one less bed, Colin would have thought it a horrible joke.

As was his nightly ritual, Colin took inventory, which was a heftier task on this night, given all the trinkets he had received. Vylira spared little expense, giving his various items, like a wood carving of Ursoc and a vial of moonwell water, a popular tourist draw. They had even come across some night elf children who offered him their toy, a small hacky-sack-like ball that had been made by Darnassisn tailors.

He carefully penned names of who'd given what, finishing up about ten minutes later. As he finished, he heard voices rising outside the door, and he curiously made his way over toward it, listening against the wood. It was clearly Kyra and Vylira, and besides being able to tell that the general conversation was more confrontational than usual, he couldn't tell what exactly being said. As the speaking hakted, he knew to return to his bedside, and sure enough, immediately afterwards, Kyra walked in, angrily pushing the door shut behind her.

"HMMGH!" she groaned angrily, clenching her head with both hands, "Why can't she just- Argh!"

Colin turned to her, "I think she's just looking out for you."

"I know, I know," she replied, still heatedly, "She's been looking out for me since I was an infant. They all have. Now they all think they can tell me what to do, where to be, blah, blah, blah."

Colin grinned, "Is Kyra Shadowmoon defying a superior officer?"

She drolly shot a stare at him, which elicited a short chuckle from him as she went on, "It's different with family. Tyriel judges me on my merit; on what she knows I'm capable of. Vylira judges me on that sickly baby that is dead to me now. I'm capable of so much more now; why can't they see that?"

She sat on her bed and buried her face in her hands, turning quiet. Colin watched her, suddenly recalling every awkward and stupid thing he'd done in front of her, clenching his teeth at the thoughts. He slowly walked toward her, sitting beside her and wrapping and arm around her shoulder.

"Hey," he spoke up, "If you make a mistake, you have thousands of years to correct it. I'm guessing Vylira doesn't want you to be a Silverwing, right? I mean, if it's night the right path, you'll only spend so many hundreds of years finding that out for yourself."

His heart ached for a brief moment, his chest tightening at the thought, "If you want to do that, I mean…you should go for it."

She looked up at him, revealing a few tracks of tears, sighing, "It's always somebody disconnected from all the Shadowmoon mayhem that sees everything.

Colin grinned, gloomy, "Had I said something to Vylira's liking, I'm sure your response would be much different."

Kyra chuckled a bit as he continued, "It's just a human's perspective, though. If we spend a hundred years learning something's wrong, we're talking about wasting a life. Your lives are much more lenient."

Kyra lowered her head in thought as Colin stood back up, his hand leaving her shoulder last. He returned to his bed, packing up everything sprawled out amongst his bed. Kyra remained staring at the floor, wrapped up in thought, though listening to the rummaging being done by Colin. As time went on, however, the noise slowed until it completely stopped.

Kyra opened her eyes to see a distinct blue glow at her feet. She looked up to see that it had encompassed the entire room, and that Colin was standing there, holding his cheek, where the source of the light sat. It was as if the moon had entered through the cracks in the walls, but instead of a small line, it simply engulfed the entire room.

She sat there, still, curious as to what was going to happen, and perhaps, a bit fearful. Colin remained there, turned away so that she couldn't see his face, though he suddenly turned toward the door, slowly making his way out. Kyra quietly stood up and followed behind him, his steps remaining slow, but becoming more and more deliberate. She remained at the front of the inn as Colin walked across the road, carefully making his way down the riverbank, pulling some of the water there up to his face.

As though expecting something to have happen, he stood there for a moment, though his cheek remained bright. He repeated the process, pulling another handful of water to his cheek, now rubbing his hand against his skin. Still, it remained. Now he become more upset, pulling handful after handful of water to his cheek, quickly, before kneeling down into the water and splashing it into his face, dipping his head into the river and vigorously rubbing at his cheek.

Kyra watched, sadly, as Colin continued to assault his cheek, rubbing his cheek so hard and angrily that he had starting catching it with his fingernails, causing blood to begin pouring from his cheek. As this went on, he had begun to cry furiously, his tears mixing with blood and river water, his cries being silenced by the vigorous splashing of water around him until he stopped thrashing, simply kneeling in the river, crying alone to himself.

His eyes shut, he was alone, but for the arms that wrapped around him, suddenly. Kyra had knelt down behind him, resting her head against the back of his shoulder. Colin could only bring his hand up to his cheek, wiping away the blood from it, only now surveying the damage.

"Why does she want me?" he muttered, near silently, "Why will she tell people we're coming, but not tell that a military force is as well?"

Kyra was surprised to hear that, though she didn't express it, leaving Colin to go on, "Why will she free me from a prison, but she won't protect the damn people that actually worship her?"

To this, Kyra stood up and helped Colin to his feet, walking around to face him, holding her hands on his shoulders, "Because she sees something important in you. And whether or not you want to accept it, she will continue to peg you for whatever you have in store."

Colin stood there, still disillusioned. Kyra watched him for a moment before releasing a sigh, pulling a rag from within her armor, patting down his cheek, still raw from his clawing himself. In doing so, her totem had fallen from her pocket, catching onto her armor and dangling at her side. Colin's eyes trailed down and his eyes locked there, stunned.

"I'm a priestess of Elune," Kyra spoke up, calmly, "So I have just a bit of duty when it comes to her will. I understand how you feel, Colin; about me, anyway. If you just put that aside, just a little, allow me to be Elune's representative here, for you. To protect you when your good will prevents you from doing so. To be everything to you that Elune is to me."

Colin looked back up to Kyra, their eyes meeting. He could have sworn that he saw the stars within them. Slowly, he lowered his head again, nodding.

"If that is your will," he spoke up, "I won't stop you."

Kyra smiled, "It is."

She pulled him closer and hugged him, though Colin was too drained to reciprocate. She patted his back and pulled away, returning her rag to his cheek and allowing him to hold it against it himself. She then helped him back to the inn, the two having had enough of a night.

Colin slept soundly after that, having worn out every bit of his emotions. Though Kyra stayed awake, staring across the room, at Colin's cheek, once again faintly glowing in that handprint that she had now memorized. She now realized that her pledge to him was in opposition to her personal goals. Though she didn't worry. Either future would be nice, she thought.


	15. Unrequited

By the time Colin woke up the next day, Kyra had already gone off. He had lifted his head and peered across the room, finding her bed made up and empty. He dropped his head back down onto his pillow, squinting his eyes to avoid the sunlight that beamed in through the open window. He could see the rays of light as they stretched a ross the room, though he was surprised to see them met against the face of Vylira, who approached his bedside, silently walking into view.

"Ishnu dal'dieb," she spoke, softly, "Sleep well?"

Colin raised his hands out from his blanket and rubbed his eyes, still a bit taken aback, "Yeah, I suppose. Am I needed or something?"

She nodded, "Well, it's sort of up to you. Kyra already left to help with those elementals, so I figured you'd be left here alone by yourself. If you wanted, I know Raynewood Retreat is often enclosed from outsiders; I figured you might want to tag along. I have to go check on it anyway. You seem to be interested in night elf areas that are near impassable to you."

Colin grinned, "I think that's more circumstantial than not, but yes, that sounds like a good idea. Isn't that even farther than Maestra's Post, though?"

Vylira cocked a grin, "Well, have you ever ridden atop a nightsaber?"

It turned out to be a moot point, as it was going to happen regardless of what he'd said. Vylira brought her own nightsaber, Emawreth, and hopped on herself, helping Colin along behind her. They started out slow enough, to get the human acclimated, but as they sped up greater and greater, Vylira had pulled Colin's arms around her waist for balance, the latter particularly seeking stability now that Emawreth was nearly going full speed.

In this fashion, it only took a half hour or so to get to the Retreat, and Colin immediately fell down to the ground as soon as he'd been given the chance, giving Vylira the change to laugh politely at the sight.

"There's always a first time," she grinned, "The return trip won't be as bad."

Colin nodded, still on the ground, "I can see where you all get your kicks."

While Colin recovered there, Vylira went off to check up on the place. Sure enough, everywhere Colin looked, there were elven faces that stared at him, quick to turn away when his eyes drew near. He smiled at their reactions, which he had been well acquainted with by now, though he had long known a remedy for such things.

He stared up at the gigantic tree that looked above him, examining it's many boughs as he pulled out his sketchbook. He began drawing, making sure to gather each detail, and even including some of the faces that slowly peeked out from behind windows. He went on like this, his head rising rhythmically to reclaim the image in his head of the place.

As expected, some of the faces that had poked out began to appear more and more curious at what he was doing, and once it was known that he was drawing, the inhabitants became rather enamored at what it was, exactly, he was drawing. Eventually, one or two of them approached Colin cautiously, stopping behind him and peering over his shoulder to examine his work.

Colin grinned as more of them gathered around, obviously impressed by his work, and eventually, one of them quickly spoke up, "Zin Ashenvale…"

Judging by the voice, it was an awestruck sort of phrase, so Colin continued along until he was finished. He turned around to the group of night elves behind him, looking at a older pair of them that he had noticed when they had first come over.

"You two," he began, respectfully, "Together?"

The man stood, shocked at being addressed, though the woman nodded her head, "Bound together, through many, many moons."

Colin smiled, holding up his pad and quill, "May I?"

The woman nodded again, sitting down on a nearby concrete bench, pulling her still mystified husband down beside her, giving Colin a pair of models to finish up his drawing. The two sat lovingly while he drew, the man becoming a lot more relaxed once the shock wore off, and Colin happily spun around the sketchpad once he finished, showing off the two. Nearly brought to tears, the wife held her mouth and nodded enthusiastically with approval, while the husband only smiled. Colin shook their hands and, after a quick and unexpected hug from the woman, left the group, returning his sketch pad to his knapsack.

"Smooth," Vylira grinned, leaning against a nearby column with her arms crossed.

Colin smiled, still looking into his bag, "You pick up a few things when you roam around for long enough."

He finished organizing his bag, but when he looked back up, Vylira had covered quite a distance in that time, and she now stood right next to him, smiling herself, "Everything here is tip-top, I believe you say. If you'd like, we can stay around here for a while. You could draw some more, or whatever; it's always peaceful here."

Colin thought over it for a second, though not about staying, but rather Vylira. She seemed to be rather friendly, too friendly, actually, though Colin couldn't say that he disliked it. She was very bright and cheery, quite different from Kyra's stoic shell. He did find it odd, this sort of role-reversal of the two; Vylira easily could have seemed like the younger of the sisters

"Sure," he answered, finally.

Vylira happily nodded, walking on ahead and waving Colin to follow here, "Here; there's a clearing up ahead you'd love. Every time I come by here I spend some time over there. Once, there was a baby furbolg that nearly came up to shake my hand."

She paused for a second, "Maybe rip my arm off. Either way, it was a cute little thing."

Grinning, Colin pondered it himself, finally asking, "For a Silverwing, you certainly seem pretty lax. I mean, besides your awesome entrances, that is."

Vylira smiled dimly, "To be honest, seeing Kyra dive head first in her military goals has reminded me a lot of me when I started. From day one, it was always about my service; to Elune, to my officers, to Malfurion, whomever it may be. You give up on a lot when you dedicate your life to such things, you know?"

Colin nodded in agreement as she went on, "It makes me miss the little things I couldn't do before. You know, I've never just went on a walk with a friend before. I've been on more patrols than a Orgrimmar grunt, but it's not quite the same. I've found it to be quite nice to just unhook from everything. Not that I stop being a soldier; just for a moment, I enjoy things a bit more than I used to."

As they neared the clearing, Colin couldn't help but notice Vylira's arm slithering between his arm and torso, grasping at his hand. He looked down at their hands, noticing her turning away with a blush.

"Night elves hold hands like this as friends; don't worry," she confirmed, lowly.

Colin nervously pressed on, doing his best not to question it. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Vylira, who could definitely be making a pass at him. As before, he didn't dislike it, though whenever he thought of this sister, the face of Kyra immediately flashed in his mind. It was rather odd, he thought, or, at least, very new to him.

When they finally reached the clearing, which was, indeed, gorgeous, Vylira pulled her guest over to a spot and sat down, pulling him to the ground beside her, as though seeking a prime spot for which to watch him draw.

"Here, you can draw this," she pointed out, slowly, pointing out all the colorful flora that surrounded them.

Colin nodded as he looked around, pulling around his sketchbook, "Alright, if you say so. It definitely looks nice."

He flipped through to find an empty page, Vylira marveling beside him at every page she was able to make out. Colin paused at the page he had just drawn, almost as if double checking it, now that it was out from his eyesight. As he began to flip the page, Vylira rested a hand on the page in question.

Colin turned to see her eyes glued to the sketch, her blue eyes staring deep into the parchment. He looked back at the drawing to see what might have caught her attention, though he couldn't really tell. He smiled to himself, pleased with what he'd done. Eventually, Vylira's hand pulled away and Colin silently continued, not bringing up what had happened.

As he began to draw, Vylira stared intently at the page, almost mesmerized by each stroke that ran across the paper. The two weren't touching when he began, but as Colin went on, he could gradually feel Vylira's leaning onto his side more and more, which mostly only bothered him because he couldn't move his arm as much.

This went on for a time, until Colin had finished quite a bit of the background. Eventually, Vylira pulled away and stood up, walking over into the clearing a few paces in front of him, sitting down with her legs pulled up behind her as she posed.

"Could you do like you did earlier?" she asked, sincerely, "You know, making those two a part of the drawing."

Colin nodded, only his eyes moving from the paper up toward her, "Not a problem."

He continued, finishing up the background and beginning to draw the model in front of him. He had drawn Kyra twice before now, and as he began to sketch out Vylira, he began to notice the slight differences between the two. Vylira's face was brighter in color and in personality; her eyes seemed to bounce at you, playfully, while Kyra's were more akin to wells of moonlight that you could fall into. Vylira's body was slightly different as well, as were her hands.

Colin stared at her a long while as he was lost in these comparisons, rather intrigued by them, and he returned to his paper, having had enough of an eyeful to draw from memory for just a bit longer. His quill ran around the paper excitedly, almost dancing to the shape of the Silverwing's body in praise.

When he finally looked up again, he paused. Vylira had crawled on all fours up to him, her face only a foot or so away from his. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he was certain that she was far more nervous than she might be trying to let on.

She gently pulled his sketch pad down with her hand before it rose up again to hold his shoulder, "I told you I'd had my eyes on you since you first entered here."

With that, Colin immediately knew what she was getting at, though she continued whispering, so he let her be, "Had I any idea you would end up meeting my sister… I might have snatched you up then and there."

Still shocked, Colin couldn't exactly move when she inched closer toward him, her knee meeting his leg as she reached up, her lips meeting with his cheek. She pulled away, trying to gauge his reaction, and though while it was full of surprise, she couldn't say there was much in the way of denial. She leaned in again, though this time, kissing nearer to his lips.

"You seem like the kind of man whose never had a woman stare at them the way I am right now," she muttered, near silently, before finally reaching over and allowing her lips to come to his in a kiss.

Suddenly, a flashback suddenly crashed into Colin's mind. These were Kyra's lips. or were they? But the person to whom these belonged was definitely not Kyra. He raised his hand, placing it against her chest and gently pushing her away, very much to her surprise. He lowered his head, more so in sadness that he was having to put her through this.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I think you're an amazing person, but…"

"But I'm not Kyra," Vylira finished, sadly.

Colin sighed, "I've been hurt so many times by people who I thought I loved. I couldn't bear to do the same to somebody else, especially…Kyra."

"I know she refuses to feel the same as me," he went on, almost grinning at the thought, "But I've done far more in my life for far, far lesser women."

Vylira leaned back, sitting down across from him, lowering her head, " _I'm_ sorry. I knew you had a thing for her, but… I'm sorry; I just got caught up in all this stuff, and you being so kind and-"

She was halted by Colin, who had laid his hand against her shoulder, "Don't apologize. We're both just hopelessly searching for the same thing. There's no shame in that, much less to a guy like me who has never been with anybody who hadn't eventually left me broke on the curbs of Old Town, or had me take them for a weekend in Redridge only to run off with the first lumberjack that had traveled ten thousand miles to plant Draenor seeds. You stand, head and shoulders, above most of them."

"And my sister's a giant," she smirked.

"She's the moon," Colin spoke, coolly, remembering the night before.


	16. Duty Before Unity

The two didn't remain for much longer after that. Colin had done enough of his drawing to make it legible, but Vylira insisted the two go on, embarrassed by what she'd done already. Colin bemusedly acquiesced and the two returned to Emawreth, who growled at the sight of them returning so long after leaving.

"We grew up together," Vylira explained as she stroked the bridge of the cat's nose, "So she gets a bit upset when we're separated for long. I've spent many a night sleeping against her curled up body; our nightsabers are, more often than not, our closest allies."

Emawreth purred, recognizing that she was being talked about, and Vylira eventually hopped onto her saddle, helping pull Colin up behind her. Whatever hardcore discretionary trait Kyra had, Vylira must have had it to, as she pulled Colin's arms back around her waist as though nothing intimate had occurred. As much as she wanted to enjoy a partner, she couldn't help being a night elf, naturally used to closeness between people of both sexes. Colin was far more uncomfortable with such a thing.

This time, thankfully, Emawreth made her way through the forest more at a prance this time around, giving Colin a chance to relax and enjoy the scenery. The two remained quiet for a while, though Vylira was the first to speak up, obviously having been deep in thought.

"I see couples, like those two back at the retreat," she began, disillusioned, "And I want that. Maybe I'm just getting older, but my being a soldier won't last, you know? My children will, though. What I do back in Darnassus may. There will always be wars, no matter how many you kill."

Colin brought up, "I thought night elves weren't supposed to fall for mortals."

He noticed her head lower slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable now that he's mentioned it, but after a short time, she answered, "I mean, it's a personal preference. Some of us fall in love, love immensely, and after our partner dies, we mourn, then stumble upon another. I can't say I wouldn't be into that, not that I'm unfaithful; it's just the nature of what is. I know Kyra…"

She paused, before sighing heavily, "I know you love her or whatever. I'm just afraid that she'll never budge. I know she desperately wants companionship, but she will only ever settle for one. If that were you, you know; that's a lot of years after you die…"

Colin lowered his head, saddened, as Vylira continued, "I have no doubt that you're a man who can love for a thousand years in only sixty, but it's just not the same. I've had friends who have died. Just friends. Even that was difficult to bear. Especially when we start feeling guilty, almost, that we're so close to immortality; then we begin questioning our own nature, and then nothing good can come of it."

She finished, "I'm not saying to give up. I'm just telling you what Kyra expects from life. Maybe if it were you, she'd change her ideals, but I don't know. It's the kind of thing that drive people like us insane."

Colin smiled lightly, "So it's just like everybody else."

Vylira grinned herself as they approached a fork in the road. Colin wasn't able to gather anything in the way of bearings on the way up, so he wouldn't have noticed them going another way this time unless his guide had spoken up.

"We're going to go check up on Kyra real quick, if you don't mind," Vylira muttered l, almost to herself, "I know it was just some elemental trouble, but with that Horde attack the other day, I'd like to be sure."

Before Colin could chuckle, Vylira shot back at him, "I know, I know; I cant help but worry about her."

As they rode deeper into the forest, Colin could tell that the general area just became darker and darker. He knew that there were remnants of fel demons and such here, and that the Horde lumber mills were probably causing some of the life to be sucked out from the atmosphere, but he had no real evidence to back that. By now, he was a bit too apprehensive to even ask.

Soon enough, the two came to a horrific sight. Two dead bodies, night elves, along with a dead nightsaber, whose paws had been hacked off. Vylira stared at the scene, examining it from atop Emawreth. Colin couldn't help but do the same, though he was rather terrified by the brutality of it all.

"It's recent," Vylira spoke gravely, "They would have come back and made an example of the two bodies had it been a while ago."

She thought for a moment, raining in Emawreth, who was becoming more and more agitated, "We'll go back to Astranaar and get help. From there we can-"

"What if they're around here and need help?" Colin interrupted, forcing a frown upon Vylira's face.

"It's a miracle we aren't already under attack," she spoke, hastily, "We need to get back. We'll-"

Suddenly, a loud burst of gunfire broke through the still air, forcing Emawreth to suddenly break into a frightened dash, knocking Colin off and into some if the foliage off the road. He tried to regain his bearings, but couldn't recover in time to find where Vylira was. He figured she knew enough of what to do, so he simply stayed hidden, looking around to find where the sound had come from.

Sure enough, an orc carrying a sort of wagon came down the road, a blunderbuss in his hand, carefully surveying the area. He muttered some words to himself before concluding the coast was clear, then began to pick up the two bodies on the ground, hosting them onto his wagon.

Colin tried to listen in, but couldn't have understood much even if he could. He could speak Certain dialects of troll Zandali, and even some goblin languages; whenever speaking to an orc, he had had an interpreter. Nevertheless, he could tell the man was agitated as he looked around a final time, his gun outstretched. Satisfied, he spun the wagon around and began walking off.

Carefully, Colin looked back toward where he thoughts Astranaar was, initially thinking about running off to find Vylira or just anybody not ready to kill him on sight. Quickly, however, his mind went to Kyra; specifically what she had said to him just the night before. She had promised to be his moon; to be a more physical form of Elune, so as to better enact her will for him, or something like that. She had pledged to protect him. Now she need protecting.

Then he thought about Darkshore, and that faded memory of himself trudging through the dark forest, just about to succumb to his injuries. That was where it had stopped for days, but for a while now, he could remember just past that point; he saw a small group of night elves and a dwarf, emerging through the trees, and the one of them running toward him faster than any of the others.

To this end, Colin turned toward the wagon that was now rolling out of his view. He stared it down, suddenly coming to the conclusion that he knew was right. He kept to the shadows, tracking the armed orc, calling back to that time within Ban'ethil Hollow, though this time, he was working among smart creatures. Creatures that would easily kill him.

Colin ducked between some more foliage, watching the orc strolling along with the same wagon in tow as he turned into Splintertree Post. Colin could instantly tell how difficult it would be for him to get into, and he instantly rubbed his face in exasperation. There was an entrance, but one side of the strip of Horde buildings was lined with small cliffs, giving him an idea.

He quietly made his way across the road and around to the back of the settlement, pleased to see the cliff wasn't being patrolled. He laid down and crawled to the edge, examining the area below him. The orc wagoner had made it to a massive bonfire in the middle of the post and pulled another orc over to help him as the two picked the two bodies up and tossed them into the fire, the wagoner making a threatening gesture to a series of cages nearby with each throw.

Colin could tell that the cages were, indeed, inhabited, though he couldn't tell by whom, or whichever one held Kyra. He planned on freeing everybody anyway, but he knew Kyra would immediately have a grasp of whatever situation arose.

Carefully, he made his way down the cliffside, which was particlally obscured by one of the taller buildings, so he felt secure in any case. It was a sheer cliff, so every move he made, he was sure to make slowly. As he made his way down, methodically, a pebble fell from the rock face and landed atop one of the cages, and Colin could hear hushed whispers in Darnassian.

Finally, as he came into view of the captors, who were all staring in his direction now, he immediately noticed Kyra, laying down in her cage against one of the sides, nursing her leg as she watching him, shocked.

"You're not Vylira?!" she whispers, dumbfounded.

Colin quickly picked up a nearby sword that had been left there, probably to kill the prisoners later, "No; she went off to get help. Well, more help."

Kyra, who seemed more angry that he had come, rather than why he was here, shook her head is dismay as she addressed the others in Darnassisn. Colin was fiddling with one of the locks, so he couldn't catch it, but the woman in the cage that he was unlocking poked her hands out between the bars, helping him maneuver the sword into the locking mechanism.

Suddenly, a click sounded and the door creaked open, leaving the night elf within holding it just ajar until the others were freed. Colin moved over to the next cage, careful to avoid detection and Kyra's disappointed stares. As he finished unlocking everybody's locks, he slowly opened the gate to Kyra's cage, kneeling down to check on her leg.

"It's no big deal," she confirmed, vaguely, "I guess it was a good thing you'd gotten here. The orcs here tend to murder their prisoners if there seems to be an imminent attack."

Colin sighed, "Well, I guess it cant always be good news. How about this; once Vylira gets here, the others here join in and create a distraction while I carry you out the back way. Okay?"

Not happy to be taking such a diminished role, Kyra solemnly nodded. However, it didn't take long at all until they all began to hear the rumblings of a commotion. Without even seeing what was going on, the encaged Sentinels quickly exited, rushing over to Kyra, who directed them in Darnassian, sending them off. With that, Colin helped her up, wrapping his arm under her shoulders, and the two made their escape as Kyra hopped along with her one good leg. Colin kept the dull sword from before in his hand, hoping to at least use it for intimidation.

The two quickly left the small settlement, not even looking backwards. They didn't speak, Colin, due to a fear of being caught still, and Kyra because of the pain and due to being helped off. They made it far enough away for Colin to sigh in relief.

"Okay," he spoke, "Looks like that should be- AAH!"

Instantly, the two fell to the ground, Colin nursing a sharp pain in his knees. He spun around on the ground to see the orc from earlier, the wagoner, angrily waving around an axe. He had thrown a giant club at Colin's legs to stop the two.

"Gol'kosh," the orc spoke before raising his voice, loud enough to nearly rupture the earth beneath them, "Trk'hsk!"

Kyra desperately tried to stand up, but fell when her leg instantly gave way. Though in pain, Colin managed to get up, and he held his sword out in front of him, unshakily.

"Antu'fon!" Colin shouted, summoning whatever Zadalari he could, "Antu'fon!"

The orc only seemed to be amused, as he continued toward the two. Colin stretched out his sword further as the orc gained speed, running at the two and shouting out a war cry before raising his sword, not three feet away from Colin.

In a blur, Colin went blank for a second. The air around him seemed eerily still. He felt like he was shaking a mile a minute, though his hands were unmoving. As he came to, he first noticed the anguished face of the orc, impaled upon the sword in Colin's hand.

Instantly, Colin began to shake, gasping for air and not immediately knowing what to do with hands. Finally, he let go with a quick motion, stepping back as the orc fell to his side and burying its face in the dirt below. In that moment, Colin was back in Theramore, back to a child; seeing the same faces contorted in pain and agony, yet so still as they lay upon corpses. He remained there for a moment, unable to move at all.

Kyra, herself, laid there, shocked at what had just happened. She couldn't even find a word to speak, and as Colin turned to help her up, still with a cold expression on his face, she remained still. He held under her shoulders and pulled her along the ground for a few paces until collapsing himself, dangerously close to suffocating simply due to his rapid breathing.

He fell to his knees, crying silently, holding his hands to his face to cover his eyes, trying to return his breathing to normal. Suddenly, and rather violently, Kyra wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him down into her chest to calm him down. She had run tears down her cheeks, devastated at what she'd just allowed to have happened.

"I…I can't," Colin stammered through his tight throat, "I just…"

Kyra held him closer to try and stop him from talking, "It's okay."

Steadily, Colin was able to regain his breath, and Kyra could only feel the sudden jolts of his head as he cried. Eventually, however, even that had stopped, and he remained against her chest, unable to move due to the arms which were still wrapped around his head.

"I just killed-" he began, but Kyra was quick to interrupt him.

"You protected me," she corrected, "That's all that happened."

Colin didn't reply, though was taken aback by Kyra's hand, which gently stroked his head as she repeated, slowly, "You protected me."

He hadn't even realized where he was until it finally occurred to him once he'd calmed down. Near instantly, he pulled away, nervously, turning around to look back at Kyra, who had never looked as saddened as she did now. She closed her eyes, as though to try and hide herself, embarrassed.

"I'm sure Vylira told you plenty about how I never cry," she muttered, quietly.

Colin wiped his sleeve against his face before grinning, "I didn't say anything to her, but it kind of came as a shock to me when I heard it."

Kyra let forth with a laugh, tearing away her sad demeanor, leaving the two there, staring at one another. They weren't sure who'd initiated it, but their hands had met on the ground, just before Colin reached around Kyra's shoulders to pick her up into a hug.

She held him as well, her face buried in his shoulder, "You let me be weak."

Colin smiled lightly, holding her tighter, realizing just how immense such a thing was for such a strong person to say, before he answered her, "You make me want to be strong."

Without turning around, he continued, "Obviously it's working."

Kyra laughed again, now through more tears. In that moment, she was falling in love with this mortal, yet she was too wrapped up in a torrent of happiness and exasperation to be terrified by the idea. She just wanted him to stay close like this, for longer than either of them could afford at this moment.


	17. Weakness Between Friends

"I guess you wouldn't know which way to go yourself," Colin spoke aloud to himself as he looked in either direction, knowing that Kyra was too far gone at this point to reply to him anyway.

He stared up into the trees, noticing that everywhere he looked had the same darker hue to it that he'd first come to realize was common on this east end if the forest. He sighed, hosting Kyra up slightly in his arms, and began to walk down the path.

"Hopefully we come across a sign post that can help us out. I can't see the sun either," he concluded, again, more to himself.

The two had gotten far enough with Colin holding Kyra up and her hopping along on one foot. She had gotten too tired, and without much warning at all, Colin had swooped down and lifted her up into his arms, an act of which was of tremendous embarrassment for Kyra. Colin had noticed lately just how flustered she would get in situations where she felt demeaned or helpless; a fact that he found especially cute, not that that was his only reason in doing this.

She hadn't spoken since then, but her face had grown red, so she looked away in an attempt to hide it. Despite Colin not showing any signs of fatigue, either, she eventually pulled her arms around his neck for support, though this only forced her to hide her face once again.

Colin continued down the road, looking out for any sort of marker or anything to give him some bearings. He had walked about as silently as Kyra had been; in some way, he had decided to repay for her silence when the two had first entered the forest. Vylira came to his mind, and he was hoping she or another Sentinel would come by, but he immediately remembered the attack on Splintertree, and he hoped one of Kyra's soldiers had made it back to Vylira to tell her of this plan, which seemed a lot more fruitless with every step.

"Well, I've never been to Azshara before," Colin smirked at his own futility.

Kyra still didn't make a sound, despite his sarcasm, and he was beginning to get a bit worried. He continued to refrain from saying anything, though he found his eyes continuing to wander down toward her every few steps to check on her. Her face was turned away, though he could tell she wasn't exactly getting weaker.

"Look," he began, clearing his throat, "No matter what happens, or what has already happened, I don't think it's fair to you what all I've done. I have a bad habit of chasing people who want nothing to do with me, and I think that, in my doing that, I may have accidentally curtailed everything you've worked so hard to accomplish."

He paused, clearing his throat instead, "I mean, if you want to be a Silverwing, it's not fair for me to do things that make you rethink that, right? I know you, more than likely, have zero feelings toward me that has anything more to do than friendship, so I just want to let you know that I don't hold anything against you, or whatever. I know we've accidentally gotten into situations, or have been forced into them, that are beyond "friend stuff", so if this is the end of the road for you, I mean, I think you should go ahead and be a Silverwing, if that's what you want."

Colin's face had gone from a worried look of wandering, to burning red with nerves, and finally to a sad stare, all in the span of a minute or two. He didn't expect a reply anyway, but he figured this was a conversation they would have to have at some point, and all the better if it was just one-sided.

Suddenly, however, Kyra's voice escaped her, a saddened tone to it, "I'm afraid that if I talk, I'll fall in love with you."

Colin gulped, though continued to stare forward, feeling an all too familiar constriction in his suddenly dry throat as Kyra continued, "And, yet, it's all I want to do to talk to you."

She didn't move, but despite that, Colin could tell how upset she was. He hadn't stopped walking, and he wasn't tired, yet it was all he could do to continue walking. He felt the weight of the world stop of him, though it only took a single moment for his to realize that it all was just Kyra.

He looked down, surprised to see that she had been looking back up at him, sadly, as though she were trapped in a cyclone of emotion. She had been so incredibly certain of her future, but now, she was as lost to the winds as she had been when she was young and sick, unable to even attempt to find her place in this world.

Suddenly, Colin paused, now just standing in the middle of the road, the two staring at each other, rather sadly. He assumed she was refusing to speak, but at the same time, he wasn't able to find anything nearly resembling speech. A simple clearing of his throat would have been enough for him to lessen the tense air, but even that was an impossibility.

"We should move on," Kyra spoke quietly, looking away.

Colin nodded, as he began to walk forward, though it suddenly felt more difficult to do so, "So-".

"Don't," Kyra snapped, not moving to do so, "Don't apologize."

Colin stopped again, now confused, and as though taking this as an invitation to continue, Kyra went on, "You don't have to apologize for anything you've done since we've met. This is been the most incredible experience of my life."

She paused for a second, mustering up some courage from within her, "If knowing how it feels to be loved by somebody else is part of this adventure, that can only make it more so. I'm just sorry that I can't do anything to-"

"Don't apologize," Colin snapped back, repeating her words.

She grinned lightly at his retort, taking the chance to simply cease talking as Colin began walking again, his voice taking a nostalgic air, "You could have left me for dead up in Darkshore and still had a leg up on most of the people I've come across in my life. The fact that you've not run off at the mere sight of the parts of myself that I cant control is enough for me to be ecstatic over."

"If only because you're so unaware of it," he grinned, "Which is surprising, considering how much your sister is."

Kyra looked up at him, "How do you mean?"

Letting out a chuckle, Colin answered her, "How many night elves go around kissing humans as a means to say goodbye?"

Blushing, Kyra muttered, "I was told it was customary for some…"

"Not like that," Colin grinned, "On the cheek, perhaps, sure. There was a reason the air in my lungs escaped all at once."

Kyra looked back up toward Colin's face, but noticed a nightsaber dashing toward them from over his shoulder, quickly stopping herself from replying. As Colin heard the solid thumping of paws, he turned as well to watch.

"Well talk about a sight for sore eyes," he smiled.

The two watched as Vylira approached them, a look of sheer shock mixed in with relief as she let lose a sigh that could have taken down a tree, "You two! Where the hell do you get off running nowhere?! I was about to tear down every tree in the forest looking for you two!"

She quickly jumped off of Emawreth and rushed to Colin's side, helping to keep Kyra aloft, before tugging on her to pull her into her own arms. As Kyra pushed her arms away, Colin was just trying to remain stable.

"We need to get you back to Astranaar! I already told them to get everything prepared just so we'd be ready for anything that might have-"

"Sister!" Kyra shouted, with a voice that shook even Vylira's drastic movements.

Vylira stared at her, shocked, as Kyra sighed, composing herself, "I'm fine! By Elune, you don't have to treat me like I'm going to die any second! It's just an ankle sprain, and maybe a torn muscle; I'll be fine. Colin has made sure of that."

Suddenly, as though her gossiping ears were piqued, Vylira's head shot up toward Colin, who replied with a sarcastic stare back to her. The elder sister sighed, pulling her arms back and holding her hands down in front of her.

"Sorry. It's not easy, you know," Vylira muttered, "I should have known Colin here would have kept you safe."

Still staring at her drolly, Colin shut his eyes, as though not wanting to have any awkwardness return to the two stragglers. In any case, Vylira motioned for Emawreth to approach the two and helped Colin get Kyra onto the nightsaber, before motioning for Colin to get on behind her.

Colin stared at her, hard, though Vylira only grinned, leaning toward his ear and whispering, "She took you from me, so you better not screw it up. I wouldn't have another shot."

She pulled away with a smile, so Colin only sighed before following her orders. Kyra hadn't realized it until he was straddling the mount behind her. Blushing, she was happy he couldn't see, though she also had to contend with her sister's view. Her arm carefully held itself against her leg to keep it from moving, so as such, Colin leaned forward, into her, to grasp at the reins of the nightsaber, his other arm wrapping around her waist to keep her stable.

Vylira kept her view held straight ahead, though only because she didn't have to see the two blushing faces to know for certain that they were there.

Emawreth was very careful in her strides, which surprised Colin at first. He had ridden many creatures in his travels, yet was shocked that a giant cat, basically, could be one of the better behaved ones. He had figured that he could have removed his hand from being wrapped around Kyra, but found it odd when he didn't.

Vylira had been walking alongside her faithful feline as the three made their way closer to Astranaar, and she had been recounting what had happened after she and Colin had gotten separated.

"I hoped beyond all hope that he was as smart as I thought and would remain hidden until I could get back," Vylira mused, "I knew I couldn't beat a blunderbuss one-on-one, but I knew that orc was from Splintertree. By the time I'd gotten my Sisters from the Outpost and up to Splintertree, it hadnt been too long. I was worried, though, because I would have thought Kyra would have raised hell to get out of there."

Kyra peered over toward her, "You think I'm that reckless?!"

Vylira nodded, "Not naturally, but you _are_ trying to prove yourself, aren't you?"

Miffed, Kyra returned to watching the road in front of her as Vylira continued, "Once we began our attack, lo and behold, I see your Sentinels fighting toward us! Well, Colin must have freed them, somehow, if they're free, and with that timing. Of course, you and my sister were not with them… Once they'd told me you two were going to escape in the chaos, I nearly bore a naga!"

She turned to Colin, ashamedly, "I apologize for the language."

Colin shrugged to himself as Vylira finished up, "I'm shocked you two managed to get away unnoticed. Splintertree is sort of out there; they certainly haven't had a problem in the past with regards to killing prisoners."

Feeling a growing ball of emptiness growing in his stomach, Colin lowered his head, his mind rushing back to the killing he had done, unintentionally. He wanted that memory gone, which only reminded him of it clearer and clearer. He felt Kyra's hand sliding onto his own in an attempt to help comfort him.

"We're coming up on Astranaar right up here," Vylira noted to the two, "We'll get you looked at, and then let you fix up the split yourself so that you don't feel like we're doing everything for you; how's that sound?"

Kyra smirked at her sister's passive aggression, "It would be a lot more than most of what you and our siblings do for me."

"Beautiful," Vylira grinned sarcastically as the three crossed the bridge into the village.

Almost immediately, Kyra was carefully taken to a larger building, which held the infirmary, leaving Colin to wait outside. He leaned against one of the railings of the bridge, turning toward one of the lakes that encompassed the settlement. He remembered, just the night before, he and Kyra sharing something that, perhaps, no other two people had. He held his hand to his cheek, gently, feeling the light scab that had formed over the tracks his nails had made.

He looked up toward the infirmary, watching for anybody coming out to let him know what was going on, probably Vylira. His mind returned, once again, to the orc he had murdered, or killed. He struggled with the words to use to describe it. He was relieved that Vylira hadn't found out, for that very reason.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Emawreth skulking over toward him, almost silently, until she found his side, laying down beside him. He smiled and scratched the cat's furry head before sliding down the road post so that he was sitting next to its head.

Vylira came into view moments later, looking relieved, "Well, it _was_ a sprain, though it seems some tissue was damaged too. One of those things that's a quick fix in the heat of battle, though not long afterwards."

She finally seemed to notice what was going on when she smiled and spoke gleefully, "Well _somebody_ has gotten along with a friend of theirs!"

"I'm pretty sure she just wants a scratch," Colin chuckled, his fingers continuing to stroke the cat's neck area.

"I'm going to go on ahead and get in touch with my Sisters," Vylira confirmed, "Are you going to wait out here for her?"

Colin shrugged with a soft smile, "I've got nowhere else to be."

Vylira nodded, grinning, "Damn straight. Give her my best, if you don't mind. I suppose this is goodbye, though, for you and me."

Standing up, Colin nodded, "I suppose so. Thanks for having our backs all this time."

"Ehh," Vylira cracked, "It was nothing I'm not used to; being amazing at entrances anyway, as it were."

She hopped onto Emawreth and stared down at her friend, "You should see how amazing I am at exits."

With a final grin, and now a thumbs up, Vylira gave Emawreth a small kick and the two were on their way, silently prancing onward into the forest, not looking back. Colin watched, and only a smirk could cross his face. She truly was amazing at exits, too.

Colin didn't have to wait too long for Kyra to emerge. He was sure that it was against the best wishes of whomever was unlucky enough to have to treat her. Nevertheless, she walked down from the infirmary, her leg in a splint and her hand wrapped around a stick that she was using as a cane.

Knowing better than to help her, now, with no invitation, Colin simply approached her and smiled at her resolve, "Good to see you back on your feet."

Kyra nodded, annoyed, "I guess. I can only pray this heals quickly."

Colin grinned as she said this, lowering his head as she spoke up, "What it is?"

He began to speak, more resolutely than anything else, "I think you should stay here."

She stared at him, confused, as he continued, "Stay here and be a Silverwing. That's what you truly want."

Kyra watched him skeptically, "What's your angle? Vylira couldn't have out you up to this…"

"It's no ploy!" Colin reassured her with a laugh, "Look, your first thought was about your leg. Because you need it to be a Sentry."

"No; because I need it to travel."

"Kyra…"

She paused, staring at the ground sadly, having been read easily enough. She watched him stick his hand into his pocket, pulling out his fox totem; the one she'd worn around her neck until she, herself, had stuffed it into her pocket. She stared at it, surprised, in Colin's hand.

"You dropped it last night," he spoke, "So when you said what you did on our way back… I mean, it was especially surprising to hear."

She hadn't thought about it at all, but he's she, she might have pinned everything that had happened today on that totem. But it wasn't even on her person, which could only mean that her feelings…

"You weren't thinking about traveling. or even me," he continued, solemnly, "So go do what you need to do. I know you've wanted this for hundred of years, right?"

The black and white way that he had understood her life was a bit disheartening to Kyra once she'd heard. It made her seem as though she were unable to appreciate much else besides her own goals. Unknown to Colin, she had been at war with her own emotions for days now.

"I need to go do what I need to as well," Colin finished, handing the totem back to her, "After today…I think I'm a bit adventured out."

"Where would you go?" Kyra asked, quietly.

"Back to Stormwind," he confirmed, "I'm sure my landlady is pissed by now, and besides, that way I can find out how long it will take for your name to hit world-wide acclaim."

Kyra grinned sadly at the compliment, playing her hand over the wooden statuette, her hand gripping past it and around Colin's hand, "Okay. If you say so."

Colin grinned himself, also rather sadly, "Good. You'll be happy, finally, right?"

She paused for a moment, deathly afraid of raising her head and staring into those eyes that she knew were the only ones to see past her rigid exterior. She had shared so much with those eyes since she had first looked at them on Teldrassil weeks ago, and now had a fleeting idea of sharing a life with them, but knew she couldn't.

"Yes," she spoke up, forcing a smile.

Colin nodded slowly, "Alright."

The two stood there for a moment, neither one wanting to concede a goodbye. Their hands were still joined together around the fox that had begun to symbolize so much about their relationship. There they stood, staring at their hands, unable to make a move, simply because they didn't want to.

Quietly, and from nowhere, Colin began to speak, "D'ana'no diel Ishura T'as'e."

Kyra looked up at him, shocked, but Colin only looked at her with a smile, "Not even the vastness between the stars could keep up from meeting again right?"

He leaned over and before Kyra could do much, kissed her, their lips meeting for but a brief moment before he pulled away again, still smiling at her shocked face.

"We'll skip the goodbyes," he confirmed, before Kyra finally took a breath and nodded.

"Yes," she replied, "That might be for the best."

She smiled back at him and bowed as they shook hands, with her taking the fox totem with her as their hands left one another, "Until next time, Colin."

"Until next time, Kyra."


	18. Ascal

In the dark of a stormy night, the most familiar of things can become monstrous. A tree can become a snarling beast, a dog a vicious hell hound, a night elf a demon. Down the main road of a small village of the Eastern Kingdoms, a demon man very carefully trembled forward, inch by inch.

The unforgiving rain pattered mercilessly at his back as he struggled with each step, his foot accidentally catching a gap between stones in the road, forcing him to fall toward onto the ground, his pack crashing into the ground, and what little possessions he had flying in front of him.

The man lifted his head, watching the road ahead of him, the pain welling within him as he lay there, this being the only rest he'd had in days. For so long he had walked simply to keep the soreness in his muscles at bay.

Luckily for him, he had fallen underneath a lamp that had lit up his body, revealing, not a monster, but a man, a night elf clocked in dark clothes. As he laid there, he began to hear the stomping of feet from behind him, suddenly hearing the distressed voice of a man, horrified.

"By the gods!" he shouted, "Are you okay?!"

The elf didn't reply, but he took this as the time to start again, though as he began to stand, he fell once more, his face slamming into the stone beneath him. Suddenly, he felt arms wrapped around him, helping him to his feet, and he look to his side to see a human, though he bore the unmistakable scars of what seemed to be a worgan.

"Here, come back to my home," the man spoke, desperately, "You cant be traveling in this weather."

The elf silently resisted, remaining I moved as the man tried pulling him back to the village, though the man continued, "We have stew over the fire; you're more than welcome to a warm meal, sir."

Despite knowing he needed to move on, the offer seemed much too warm to pass up in this storm. Slowly, the man began to turn, and the two slowly made their way back into the village, the night elf just barely able to keep his balance. The man had no problem keeping him steady, which gave away his feral strength, the elf thought. He must have made it near Gilneas.

The man knocked his door in, hurriedly carrying the elf into the abode. His wife turned from the window and rushed over to the two of them, and the elf could just barely make out the two children staring at him in shock across the room. The man carefully sat him down at the table and the elf nearly smashed his upper body down onto the wooden structure in exhaustion, but the man was careful to hold him back against the chair, keeping him balanced.

"Bring over a bowl, my dear," the man spoke gravely to his wife, who had already been preparing the dish, "We were just about to turn in when my wife checked outside the shutters and saw you collapse. I rushed out as soon as I could; we see plenty of stragglers and refugees in these parts."

The young woman brought over the stew and the elf found the strength to lean over and he began eating, examining the taste. As it turned out to be good, he couldn't help his manners and he began to scarf it down, hurriedly.

"Now hold your horses," the man spoke up, jovially, "I know it's good, but we're not going to send you off until you're ready! Take your time."

The man took a seat across from him, and the elf carefully stared at him once he came into sight. He certainly carried himself like an older gentleman, but definitely was younger, probably in his late twenties, as was his wife, it appeared.

"So what brings you out here night elf?" the man spoke, folding up the cuffs of his long-sleeved shirt, casually.

The night elf stopped eating, "I'm on the run."

The worgan man nodded slowly, "Ah, I see. Well, like I said, we help most anybody here. So long as you don't make any wrong move, you're welcome to stay until you recover."

The elf peered up from his bowl as the man leaned over onto the table, the fur escaping his sleeves now, "If your hunters do come, however, I hope you don't mind giving yourself up. We don't want any trouble."

Nodding slowly, the night elf went on eating, now a bit more wary than he had been upon entering as the man went on, "If you don't mind my trying, who is it that is after you?"

Slowly, the elf let go of his spoon, placing his hands onto the table, huffing a breath as he stalled for time, carefully, "The dragonflight."

The man suddenly pushed himself away from the table and up onto his feet, entering into the shadows behind the lantern on the table. The elf noticed two pairs of lupine eyes from behind a couch before the woman needed the two kids into another room. He looked up to see a snout from which an angry snarl came from.

"You should not be here," the deep, feral voice bellowed, "Get out of my home. Had I any idea…"

Knowingly, the elf stood up and turned to leave. He had warmed up enough to continue his journey, but before he could, he felt a heavy paw grasp onto his shoulder, stopping him.

"Your name," the man's voice snarled, "If I'm visited by anybody, I'm going to need a name."

The elf lowered his head, solemnly, carefully weighing his options, though ultimately came to the only real conclusion he had available to him.

"Ascal," he muttered mechanically.

The worgan gave him another stare before waving him out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Once again in the rain, Ascal lowered his head once more, pulling his cloak up over his head. It had been given to him by Loganaar, and as it covered up his head, his thoughts went back to his teacher.

He hadn't slept much while on this journey, not that he could, but the few times he had, Loganaar had been there, in the Dream, to console him. and to keep him concealed from the deadly gaze of Alexstrasza.

After all, she had, now, wanted him dead.


End file.
